Target TB working in partnership with Sue Ryder Foundation in Malawi (SRFIM)
Country/regional profile
Malawi is one of the most densely populated countries in Sub-Saharan Africa where 42% of the country’s 12 million people are living on less than $1 a day.
Malawi has one of the highest levels of HIV infection in the world and TB is the leading cause of death for people with HIV. This, as well as the high levels of poverty, has contributed to the number of TB cases doubling in the last 20 years. Currently 12,000 people die from TB every year in Malawi.
TB health education officer, Edward
Ngoma, helps a client fill out a TB
referral form for testing at the
local health centre.
The project focuses on rural Ntcheu district, the poorest district in Malawi where 85% of the population lives below the poverty line. Rural communities who are remote from medical facilities face difficulties accessing TB testing and treatment services, as well as health information, particularly during the long rainy season when many routes become impassable.
Our work with SRFIM
TB has been working in partnership with SRFIM since 2005. Together we are implementing a TB control project in the Bwanje Valley area of Ntcheu district, located in south-west Malawi.
Project Aims
The project aims to increase TB case detection through training key community stakeholders in TB control. A wide range of health education activities aim to increase community awareness about TB, encourage early case detection through referral to testing centres and reduce the stigma associated with TB.
Project Activities
Key community stakeholders including local volunteers, village leaders, government health workers and traditional medical practitioners will be trained to:
- educate their communities about TB and reduce stigma by holding awareness raising events and meetings
- identify people with symptoms of TB and refer them to government health centres
Two TB Health Education Officers are being employed to coordinate and support the programme. They also are actively involved in awareness raising by giving regular health talks at schools, medical camps and health centres and train community groups to use creative means such as drama, poems and traditional dance to spread awareness about TB.