Target TB working in partnership with Zatulet
Country/regional profile
Zambia is one of the most sparsely populated countries in Africa. It is land-locked and shares its borders with 8 countries. The country has a population of approximately 11 million, of which 64% live on less than a $1 a day.
TB represents a major health problem in Zambia. In the last 20 years, the number of reported cases of TB has increased more than five-fold, mainly as a result of the HIV epidemic and the increasing levels of poverty. 70% of newly diagnosed TB sufferers are co-infected with HIV. The two diseases have a deadly relationship, each speeding up the progress of the other.
Community health volunteer Trynes Daka
visits a TB patient in her home to
monitor treatment adherence
Our work with ZATULET
Since 2001 Target TB has been working with Zatulet, a Zambian Non-Governmental Organisation. In 2007 Target TB was awarded a grant from The Big Lottery Fund to implement a 5 year project with Zatulet, empowering communities to prevent and treat TB in Zambia. The project, which builds on Zatulet’s experience in TB control, relies on highly motivated and committed community volunteers who work from 8 branches, across 4 provinces of Zambia.
Project Aims
The project aims to reduce the suffering and deaths caused by TB by empowering communities with the skills and knowledge to prevent and treat the disease.
Towards reaching this aim the project will work to increase TB detection rates and exceed World Health Organisation targets for treatment completion and cure rates, whilst improving TB awareness and knowledge as well as the welfare of people affected. The project will directly benefit 8,000 TB patients over 5 years, of whom 70 per cent are estimated to be co-infected with HIV.
Project Activities
- 8 branches, staffed primarily by community health volunteers, will be trained in TB control activities so that they have sufficient knowledge and skills to implement project activities.
- All branches will carry out outreach activities in their local communities to identify people with TB symptoms and refer them to the nearest testing and treatment centres.
- The network of community health volunteers will provide home-based care and support for people affected by TB, including monitoring treatment adherence, providing psychosocial counselling, helping with household chores and establishing TB/HIV support clubs.
- The project will inform the public about TB and HIV through activities such as health talks, street drama, one to one counselling and large scale awareness raising events.