USAID Facilitates TB Care in Remote Parts of Tajikistan

Project HOPE is a USAID partner contracted to implement the five-year USAID TB Control Program in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to reduce the burden of tuberculosis and prevent multidrug-resistant forms of the disease through effective and accessible TB prevention, diagnosis and treatment for all, including vulnerable populations.

Engagement of communities and civil society organizations to support people with TB is crucial for effective control of this deadly but curable disease. Since 2015, throughout Tajikistan’s 27 districts and towns, USAID has helped establish 143 Community Health Committees (CHC). The role of CHCs is to provide a much-needed link between communities and healthcare, and to make healthcare more accessible by improving knowledge about TB and supporting TB patients toward successful completion of treatment.

With this aim, USAID has trained nearly 1,000 CHC members on effective TB education, prevention, care and support. Now, these trained coordinators have the necessary skills, knowledge and tools to conduct campaigns raising awareness in their communities. They are able to help healthcare providers in detection of TB cases and to support TB patients helping them to successfully complete treatment.

USAID’s support has been reaching Tajikistan’s most remote villages, some of which, like those in the district of Sangvor, districts that are very hard to access due to rugged terrain and a lack of reliable transportation. With the newly acquired skills in community engagement, the USAID-trained CHC coordinators are able to bring support to patients to help them stay in TB treatment even in the most remote communities.

Through CHCs facilitated by USAID, over 140,000 people throughout Tajikistan have benefitted from information about TB. More than 100 patients with TB are now receiving continuous treatment and are expected to make a full recovery.