Health workers and community elders discuss how to increase TB case notification in their communities during TB CARE I Afghanistan’s WTD celebration in 2013.Photo credit: MSH Afghanistan.
The TB CARE I Cambodia staff will participate in the WTD celebration on March 24, 2014 at the National Center for TB and Leprosy Program compound in Phnom Penh. The NTP-funded activities include comedy performances, TB trivia for school students, and inspirational speeches from key stakeholders including the NTP director, USAID representatives, and Cambodia’s Minister of Health.
National TB Program Director speaking during the WTD 2013 opening ceremony in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.Photo credit: MSH/Cambodia.
From March 17 to 23, the Annual TB Research Advisory Committee (TRAC) will host a conference in Hawassa, Ethiopia, followed by a WTD celebration on March 24. As a member of the TRAC steering committee, MSH’s TB CARE I team will attend the conference and speak on a panel entitled, "Advocacy, communications and social mobilization activities, initiatives and efforts made in Ethiopia."
During the WTD celebration, TB CARE I will distribute 3,500 t-shirts to health workers with messages about drug resistant TB control. In collaboration with the Addis Ababa Health Office, TB CARE I will also participate in a TB sensitization workshop for 75 journalists and contribute to a fictional drama on TB that will be broadcast on national television on WTD. TB CARE I developed 12 banners on drug resistant TB that will be displayed in Addis Adaba during the WTD celebrations.
MSH’s Help Ethiopia Address the Low Tuberculosis Performance (HEAL TB) project is working closely with the NTP and TB Research Advisory Committee to plan this year’s WTD activities in Ethiopia. The project’s technical staff will co-chair sessions and present HEAL TB’s key findings related to TB control in Ethiopia at a national conference being organized in connection with the WTD conference. During a two-day symposium, the project’s technical staff will share HEAL TB’s community-based TB care experience and contribute to discussions on improving childhood TB services in Ethiopia. In the Amhara Region, HEAL TB will launch a six-month TB screening campaign and an educational radio series on TB.
The project team will also inaugurate a multidrug resistant TB (MDR-TB) treatment center at Debromarkos Hospital that was recently renovated through HEAL TB funding and support. In the Oromia Region, HEAL TB staff will participate in a panel discussion on TB control challenges and will technically and financially contribute to broadcasting educational sport messages on TB through the local radio channel.
On WTD 2014, the TB CARE I Ghana team will launch a film on TB control that they developed in collaboration with USAID. The film focuses on the importance of early TB detection and treatment to improve case findings and reduce TB morbidity and mortality. During a national media briefing on WTD, TB CARE I will also share results from six hospitals where its interventions have helped improve TB case detection.
MSH’s TB CARE I team in Indonesia will participate in the national WTD celebration on March 29 alongside 2,000 health care professionals, government officials, university faculty, non-profit staff, and community members. The project team will provide technical assistance to the NTP in planning and hosting this event and will disseminate publications on MSH’s TB control activities and achievements in Indonesia.
On March 24, 2013, MSH’s TB CARE I team in Indonesia participated in a World TB Day “5K Run, Walk, and Bike for TB” in Jakarta.Photo credit: MSH staff.
On WTD, MSH’s TB CARE I team in Nigeria will collaborate with the NTP to hold a press briefing with the honourable Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, and will visit the National Assembly to advocate for improved TB prevention and control programs. The project team will also help distribute educational materials and over 500 t-shirts to increase TB awareness and promote timely testing and treatment. TB CARE I staff will participate in a WTD symposium, seminars, community TB outreach events, and an organized community walk.
On WTD, Nigeria’s Honourable Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, will announce the launch of e-TB Manager and the National TB and Leprosy Control Program website, both made possible with financial and technical support from MSH’s TB CARE I project in Nigeria.
Numerous MSH staff contributed to this content, including: Mohammad Khakerah Rashidi MD, MPH, Project Director, TB CARE I/Afghanistan; Chay Sokun, Consultant I, TB CARE I/Cambodia; Berhanemeskal Assefa, MSH’s Senior TB Technical Advisor - Africa, TB CARE I/Ethiopia; Degu Jerene Dare, Project Performance Management Project Director, HEAL TB/Ethiopia; Rhehab Chimzizi, MSH Country Representative, TB CARE I Project Director, TB CARE I/Ghana; Julie Rostina, Technical Officer, TB CARE I/Indonesia; Opeyemi Emmanuel, Technical Advisor, TB CARE I/Nigeria; and Jessica Charles, Communications Specialist at MSH.