Target Tuberculosis

Zambia is one of the poorest countries in the world.  The main industry in Zambia is copper mining, which makes the economy sensitive to price shocks. This has caused migration patterns which have only exacerbated the TB and HIV epidemics.

Target TB is working in Zambia partnership with two local organisations Zambia – in Mkushi district with Bwafwano Home Based Care, and in Chipata, Mongu, Kabwe, and Lusaka districts with Zambia Tuberculosis and Leprosy Trust (ZATULET).

Together we train and maintain networks of skilled and motivated community volunteers to deliver high quality care and support to people with TB and HIV, and their families.

Working together with local government health centres, the volunteers carry out community awareness raising on TB and HIV, identify people with symptoms and help them access diagnosis, counseling and treatment services.

Volunteers provide a comprehensive home based care package which includes practical and emotional support, to ensure that people affected by TB and HIV, and their families, are able to manage the impacts of ill health and improve their quality of life.

65% of Zambians, some 12.6 million people, live on less than US$1.25 a day, and life expectancy here is tragically just 44-46 years.

In 2008, there were an estimated 59,000 cases of TB in Zambia, and around 13,000 deaths from TB a year.

68% of TB patients in Zambia are also co-infected with HIV.

Adult HIV prevalence in Zambia is around 15% and the combined TB and HIV epidemics have resulted in over 600,000 children becoming orphaned.

We equip health workers with motorbikes and bicycles so they can get across difficult terrain in all weathers. They can find, diagnose and treat people by going right into the heart of communities. Here, they transport sputum samples for testing.

We train health workers and community volunteers to provide TB patients with all the necessary support and encouragement they need to complete the 6-8 month treatment and to be fully cured of TB. They also educate others about TB.

Simple items can save lives. Here, Robert models rain gear! In the rainy season our volunteers still need to ride or walk into rural villages, over difficult terrain, to be able to support their patients. Being equipped means they can support people.

To fight poverty, we give small loans to people  affected by TB so that they can develop a more sustainable income for them and their family. With goat breeding, families keep some to provide milk and meat but sell others to generate income.