World TB Day is recognized on 24th March each year. This year, the World Health Organization chose the theme, “Invest to End TB. Save Lives.” Which conveys the urgent need to invest resources to ramp up the fight against TB and achieve the commitments to end TB made by global leaders. In the days leading up World TB Day this year, WAAF and IHCC ran a social media campaign dedicated to raising awareness around Tuberculosis. Graphics were made and posted to our various social media platforms. Examples of which are;
Over the years, WAAF and IHCC have continued to work towards the fight against TB. Various projects and strategies are implemented, which of one project named, IMPAACT4CTB, was implemented during 2021. The title of the project was “Increase the knowledge of and demand for TPT among Health Care Workers & PLHIV in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana”. Its main goal of achieving exactly what the title states: an increase of knowledge and an increase of demand for Tuberculosis Preventive Therapy (TPT) among both Health Care workers (HCWs) in selected ART facilities, as well as among PLHIV receiving services from these facilities. For those not familiar with the term Tuberculosis Preventive Therapy or TPT, this is an intervention where people considered at higher risk of TB disease are given a regimen of TB medicines as prophylaxis to protect them from acquiring active TB infection and therefore TB disease.
During the 6 months of implementation, a total of 12,999 PLHIV received information on TPT delivered at 6 implementing project ART facilities. Majority, 8,465 people, were reached through ART waiting room department discussions/talk, 1,637 were reached through one-on-one interaction and the remaining 517 were reached through talks given at support group meetings. 4,023 were male and 8,976 were female.
