HOPE’s TB Control Efforts in Tajikistan Grow and Strengthen

Early this year, Project HOPE’s Executive Vice President Chris Skopec visited Tajikistan where he met with country office staff and engaged with government and civil society leaders to learn about interventions implemented to address tuberculosis (TB) control.

Project HOPE has been providing humanitarian and technical assistance to Tajikistan since 1996 through delivery of crucial medications and medical supplies valued at over $300 million and, since 2001, through implementation of interventions to halt the spread of TB. For nearly two decades, Project HOPE, in partnership with Tajikistan’s National TB Control Program; USAID; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; civil society organizations; local government authorities; and communities, has been implementing targeted and effective TB control interventions to make quality TB detection, treatment and care more accessible for all. These efforts have brought cure and support to 17,000 patients representing over 80 percent of all registered TB cases in Tajikistan.

Project HOPE, through its USAID-funded TB Control Program, has assisted the National TB Program in the establishment of the Center of Excellence, which serves as a hub for training and institutionalization of innovative TB detection and treatment approaches consistent with the recommendations of the World Health Organization. Such innovative approaches include online distance training and counseling of physicians and medical staff located in Tajikistan’s provinces and remote areas on TB case management and patient and peer support.

Project HOPE is also engaged in TB control under a Global Fund New Funding Model grant. Under this project, HOPE provides support in rolling out rapid molecular diagnostic technologies and in implementation of patient-centered, community-based approaches to TB care with a special focus on vulnerable and at-risk populations.