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URC/CHS Projects
Health & Population
TASC2 Tuberculosis/South Africa
Client: United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Tuberculosis poses a serious threat to the public health and economic well-being of South Africans because it typically affects the most productive segments of the population and disproportionately affects the poor. The HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa has further complicated control and treatment of tuberculosis (TB). Although South Africa’s National TB Control Program (NTCP) has made significant progress over the past several years, it still faces challenges in increasing case detection and cure rates. Key barriers include a lack of community understanding about the disease, limited access to services, inadequate provider knowledge and compliance with DOTS, and patient adherence to treatment.
To address the barriers to increasing case detection and cure rates, the U.S. Agency for International Development's Global Health Bureau awarded URC a 50-month task order under the Technical Assistance and Support Contract/Tuberculosis Indefinite Quantity Contract (TASC2 TB). This Project was recently extended for a period of 12 months to September 2009. The project is intended to strengthen tuberculosis treatment and control initiatives in South Africa, where the disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality.
The program's principal focus is at the provincial, district, municipal, and community levels, but URC also supports the NTCP at the national level to strengthen information systems, supervision, and program management. The URC project team is assisting NTCP and other stakeholders to strengthen local capacity to detect, treat, and prevent TB and are coordinating activities closely with those being conducted by URC’s Health Care Improvement Project.
URC Services
- Develop community-based strategies to identify potential cases and ensure early referrals for screening and treatment
- Assist provincial health departments to integrate TB treatment with HIV and other health care services
- Support and develop community-based approaches to ensure treatment adherence by patients
- Introduce public education and social mobilization strategies, using mass and local media as well as participation of patients and people living with HIV/AIDS, to reduce stigma, encourage early treatment-seeking behavior, and promote a supportive environment for people affected by TB
- Provide assistance to integrate TB and HIV by expanding the WHO funded ProTest model throughout country to ensure that TB suspects and cases are tested for HIV and HIV positive clients are screened for TB and other opportunitistic infections. The model establishes referral systems between clinical services, including VCT centers, and between different levels of the system.
- To reduce treatment interruption rates and improve treatment adherence, thereby assisting in the prevention of Drug Resistant TB and strengthening linkages between health centers and community DOT supporters
- Assist the NTCP to disseminate policies and guidelines for TB infection prevention control in health care facilities and educate communities on infection control measures to reduce TB transmission
Geographic Focus
- USAID/South Africa's five focus provinces and additional three provinces are covered under program extension: Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Limpopo, North West, Free State, Northern Cape and Gauteng.
Key Partners
- MSH
- Health Systems Trust (HST)
For more information on the South Africa TB project contact:
Dr. Ntombi Mhlongo, Project Director of TASC II TB at NtombiM@urc-sa.com
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