11 Feb Nigeria: Janna Health Foundation (JHF) screens for TB in Nomadic Communities in Gassol, Taraba State
[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_separator type=”normal” thickness=”2″ up=”20″ down=”20″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”nivo” interval=”3″ images=”2443,2445″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Gassol is one of five Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the Central Senatorial Zone of Taraba State, Nigeria with an estimated population of over 350,000. It is also one of the LGAs with the largest population of Nomads in the State. With support from TB REACH Wave 6 funding, Janna Health Foundation conducted a TB case-finding intervention that targeted nomadic pastoralists in Gassol.
The project team brings together one LGA TB supervisor and 6 volunteers selected from the nomadic communities. In January 2019, the team carried out a tent-to-tent screening as well as awareness and sensitization exercises.
A total of 139 tents in 12 nomadic communities were actively screened by the volunteers in Gassol. 921 nomads were verbally screened for TB, 119 people with presumptive TB were detected and tested using GeneXpert, out of which 14 all-forms of TB cases (including 11 Bac+ TB cases) were detected and notified. No people with Rifampicin-resistant TB were found and124 nomads had HIV counseling and testing out of which none were found to be HIV positive
This intervention was a scale-up of a TB REACH Wave 2 project and was able to integrate the lessons learnt from the pilot. Community leaders were successfully engaged to participate actively in the project. They contributed to the selection of volunteers from their own communities – who had a good understanding of the local nomadic language, Fulfulde – and were informed periodically of the results of the intervention. Focal points within those communities were identified and female volunteers were selected to ease the access and facilitate the screening of the communities and especially women.
The project team plans to continue with this strategy for screening nomadic communities in Gassol LGA and hopes to apply new lessons to future activities.
In parallel to this intervention, JHF is coordinating active TB case-finding among nomads in 17 LGAs of Taraba State and another 17 LGAs in Adamawa State.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]