Women and Youth Development Initiatives (WOYODEV) benefited in the Global Fund Round 9 GFATM as a sub-sub recipient to Health Alive Foundation, HAF, (subrecipient) and Association for Reproductive Family Health, ARFH, (Principal Recipient).
The scope of the project was to carry out Social Mobilization/ Advocacies in communities in Kwara state, Nigeria and select Community Volunteers from such communities that will help in the early detection and management of TB in communities.
The objectives of the project were to contribute to the achievement of the overall objectives of NTBLCP and empower accessibility to TB services through social mobilization and community participation in patients’ support and provision of quality care. It aims to empower TB patients and communities through proper education of its members to identify and refer TB suspects for early diagnosis and treatment. Lastly it aims to encourage community ownership and sustainability of CTBC programme.
The project is a timely intervention as Nigeria ranks as one of the high TB burden countries of the world. Statically, Nigeria has the world’s fourth largest tuberculosis (TB) burden, with more than 460,000 estimated new cases in 2007. According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) 2009 report on global TB control, 42 percent of the new TB cases in 2007 were sputum smear-positive (i.e infection through air). Since 2002, DOTS coverage has increased rapidly and subsequently, case detection and notification of all forms of TB more than doubled. Although still far short of WHO’s target of 70 percent, the TB case detection rate increased from 11 percent in 2002 to 23 percent in 2007. After declining for several years, the treatment success rate has stabilized at 76 percent. Both the case detection and treatment success rates were among the lowest of high-burden TB countries. The public health burden posed by TB is becoming increasingly important as the country’s HIV/AIDS epidemic unfolds. WHO estimates that more than a quarter of new TB patients are HIV positive. Collaborative TB-HIV/AIDS services are being scaled up and the number of TB patients tested for HIV increased from about 7,500 in 2006 to 27,850 in 2007, or about one-third of all notified cases.
The National TB and Leprosy Control Program (NTBLCP) coordinate and provide strategic direction for TB control activities in Nigeria. Kwara state accounts for a high percentage in Nigeria alongside other states while Baruten Local Government in turn is one of the 10 LGAs in Kwara State that has high TB burden among 16 LGAs of the state.
Our organization, having been part of efforts in the eradication of TB in the Nigeria communities since inception and belonging to National/ International partnerships on TB have carried various activities in time past to support, sensitize and build capacity of people at the grassroots on timely intervention in the detection, management and eradication of TB. This project assisted our organization in furthering our course of action and activities as it has helped cover a larger area of communities in Kwara State.
There is a need to continue the process of Eradication and Management of TB in communities in the LGA. As observed only few of the DOTs centres were operational. The need to plan strategically for this LGA cannot be overemphasized also, as it is a porous community (a border community of Nigeria) and only a handful of people here are civilized.
Overall, efforts to eradicate TB should not be paid lip service in Nigeria anymore; there is need for strong Political Will on Tuberculosis in Nigeria.
Projects of this magnitude should pave way for increase awareness among HIV infected persons even at the grassroots level as there are now linkages between TB and HIV/AIDs.
Some of the challenges faced were the misconception on the route of infection and the cultural believe of the people in this area that TB is only contacted when either the wife or husband coughs in the course of sexual intercourse between the couples.
The need and desire to reach more people could only be achieved if the Social Mobilization is furthered as the LGA is a vast terrain.
Proper planning should be employed in future activities that will benefit the LGA as it the farthest from the State Headquarters, Ilorin and a border community which makes it porous and vulnerable.
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