DAPP partners with USAID's "Challenge TB" project
Challenge TB is a 5-year USAID-funded global project whose main objective is to decrease TB mortality and morbidity in high burdened countries. KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation is implementing the project in Malawi, with focused activities in 15 districts.
DAPP Malawi has partnered with KNCV to support the National TB Control Program to achieve the implementation of “FAST” (Finding TB cases Actively, Separating safely, and Treating effectively) strategies by the Malawi Ministry of Health in four district hospitals of Chikwawa, Machinga, Mangochi and Zomba Central Hospitals.
The project’s goal is to prevent, diagnose, treat TB and ensure treatment follow-up care is provided through a decentralized system of care with TB registration sites that have been established to support these services and have both diagnostic and treatment services in the same facility. The project aims to sustainably encourage respective districts to adopt the FAST strategy in the daily care of patients as an administrative measure of prevention of TB transmission. The partnership is for 9 months, from January to September 2018.
DAPP Malawi and KNCV will enforce the FAST strategies in the four district hospitals with the involvement of the key management staff. Working hand-in-hand with healthcare workers, the implementation will enhance TB case finding among otherwise unsuspected TB patients, diagnose TB earlier among otherwise missed drug-susceptible TB patients and diagnose drug-resistant TB earlier among inadequately treated TB patients.
Successful implementation of the FAST strategy will ensure that clients are diagnosed with TB and start receiving treatment in less than 7 days.
