WORLD TB DAY | Rwanda (MEDSAR)

Name of the activity: WORLD TB DAY

Country/NMO: Rwanda (MEDSAR)

Program: Communicable Diseases

Contact information: [email protected]

Type of the activity: Campaign.

Focus area:

Prevention of Communicable Diseases | Tuberculosis

Problem statement:

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide.
In 2016, 10.4 million people fell ill with TB, and 1.7 million died from the disease (including 0.4 million among people with HIV). Over 95% of TB deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries where country Rwanda belongs.
In 2016, an estimated 1 million children became ill with TB and 250 000 children died of TB (including children with HIV associated TB).
TB is a leading killer of HIV-positive people: in 2016, 40% of HIV deaths were due to TB.
Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) remains a public health crisis and a health security threat. WHO estimates that there were 600 000 new cases with resistance to rifampicin – the most effective first-line drug, of which 490 000 had MDR-TB. Globally, TB incidence is falling at about 2% per year. This needs to accelerate to a 4–5% annual decline to reach the 2020 milestones of the End TB Strategy.
An estimated 53 million lives were saved through TB diagnosis and treatment between 2000 and 2016.
Ending the TB epidemic by 2030 is among the health targets of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that most often affect the lungs. Tuberculosis is curable and preventable.
TB is spread from person to person through the air. When people with lung TB cough, sneeze or spit, they propel the TB germs into the air. A person needs to inhale only a few of these germs to become infected.

About one-quarter of the world’s population has latent TB, which means people have been infected by TB bacteria but are not (yet) ill with the disease and cannot transmit the disease.

People infected with TB bacteria have a 5–15% lifetime risk of falling ill with TB. However, persons with compromised immune systems, such as people living with HIV, malnutrition or diabetes, or people who use tobacco, have a much higher risk of falling ill.
in Rwanda, the incidence of TB is high mostly due to the lack of knowledge about TB, that is why this campaign was designed.

Target groups and beneficiaries:

Medical students – to educate and equip them to take an active role in prevention, mitigation,
and advocacy on TB
– Communities and schools, local authorities, media – to educate them on preventing TB disease transmission
– Authorities
– Policy makers (national, international) to increase the funding into TB disease and strengthening prevention part of health systems

Objectives and indicators of success:

Improved knowledge and empowered medical students who have knowledge and skills on TB Disease at the end of the campaign.
Indicator: Number of educational activities on TB increased, workshops carried out at the end of the campaign where about 85 students attended the TB workshop.
Target group: Medical students.
– Educated and empowered communities that know and take preventive measures on TB disease at the end of the campaign.
Indicator: the Anti TB campaign carried out to raise the awareness about TB, preventive measure,its signs and symptoms so that a person may go directly to seek health care. around 200 people will acquire knowledge about TB at the end of the campaign
Target group: Communities
Target group: Government, Authorities and Civil societies

Methodology:

the activity started on 20/3/2018 with a training to the medical students so that they may be equipped with knowledge and skills about TB, so that they may be empowered and open their minds to look out of the boxes on what they can do to reduce TB incidence in our country. As medical students are the future doctors who will be in charge of treating TB, they needed to know more about TB and emphasize mostly on the prevention methods as prevention is better than cure. then the campaign continued(the whole week from 20-27/3/2-18) with the online activities including Radios and Television, social media to raise the general public awareness about TB, its transmission, signs and symptoms, treatment and prevention. it then continued with advocacy where on 24/3/2018 we approached the local authorities to emphasize on TB burden and what they can do about it

Plans for evaluation:

Post campaign Surveys will be designed, knowledge assessment to the participants after the teachings have been carried out, personal evaluation to the medical students participated in the campaign have been also done.