27 Feb Pakistan: Mobile X-ray camps provide access to TB diagnosis services in rural areas
[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=”2467,2466″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]TB continues to be a major challenge in Pakistan. The National TB Control Program and partners are striving towards improving awareness about TB signs and symptoms, providing access to appropriate healthcare facilities and offering good-quality diagnosis.
Mercy Corps Active Case Finding (ACF) interventions are designed to focus primarily on populations with high disease burden who live in marginalized and remote areas and whose socioeconomic conditions make access to health services more difficult.
Their ACF activities are articulated through 2 main components: the community gathering to mobilize the community members and the mobile X-ray screening chest camps with the help of seven screening vans. Each of the vans are equipped with digital X-rays, CAD4TB Scoring software and GeneXpert machines. In total, the vans covered 19 districts in 3 provinces: Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh. Thanks to this technology, screening and diagnosis are now done at the spot, which makes it easier for patients to get registered and initiate treatment without delay.
Additionally, several chest camps are organized by Mercy Corps at selected Public-Private Mix (PPM) healthcare facilities to screen people for TB who visit the clinics for any other medical reason.
From January to December 2018, Mercy Corps conducted 665 screening camps. 28,373 people were screened using digital X-rays and 5,340 people with presumptive TB were tested using GeneXpert. As a result, 1,481 all type TB cases were diagnosed out of which 21 were Rifampicin resistant (RR).
In Q4’2018, 5,017 cases were notified across 19 target districts, which represents an increase of 52% compared to the same quarter in 2017 where 3,298 cases were notified. This illustrates the success of Mercy Corps longtime case-finding efforts.
Over the next quarter, Mercy Corps plans to continue ACF interventions and to target more vulnerable populations such as drug users, mine and factory workers.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]