Tuberculosis is termed as the deadliest infectious disease known in the world. A person with TB can infect 10-15 people in a single contact within a year. The government of Kenya, through the ministry of health, come up with different innovation strategies to combat as well as identify persons with TB within the community. Different organizations had to register themselves with KIC-TB as at 2017, give out their proposal and after assessment, they were able to receive funds from the World Health Organization to reach out to people with TB either knowingly or unknowingly.
The main objective of Kenya Innovation Challenge TB Fund (KIC-TB) was to find missing people with TB, develop innovative approaches to accelerate case findings and scale up tools and approaches that have worked well. Other objectives are well defined in https://stoptb-strategicinitiative.org/index.php/2018/08/07/kenya-innovation-challenge-tb-fund-to-find-the-missing-people-with-tb/
During the Covid-19 pandemic, TB took high peak and this was because more attention was given to the Covid-19 virus. Therefore, making the human, financial and economical resources being allocated to the response of Covid-19 in Kenya. This was a major concern globally as stated by the WHO, https://www.who.int/news/item/14-10-2021-tuberculosis-deaths-rise-for-the-first-time-in-more-than-a-decade-due-to-the-covid-19-pandemic
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351472897_Assessing_the_Real-Time_Impact_of_COVID-19_on_TB_and_HIV_Services_The_Experience_and_Response_from_Selected_Health_Facilities_in_Nairobi_Kenya this document gives an overview of the impact of Covid-19 on TB and HIV.
Most people feared to avail themselves for TB testing and scanning simply because they would be isolated as in the case of the Covid-19 patients, bearing in mind the symptoms were almost the same. The USAID supported a mass media campaign reaching millions of people to explain symptoms of TB and encourage individuals to test so as to reduce TB patients being identified during the Covid-19 period.
Today being the world’s tuberculosis day, the main theme as stated by the WHO, World Health Organization is “Invest to end TB. Save a life.” The ministry of health handed an award to Kericho County Referral Hospital for addressing TB disease. https://www.kenyanews.go.ke/kericho-earns-an-award-for-addressing-tb-diseases/
The government of Kenya launched new TB policies in June 30, 2020 https://www.health.go.ke/kenya-launches-new-policies-to-stop-tb-nairobi-tuesday-june-30-2020/. These policies are still being embraced by the citizens of Kenya of which is a good gesture to stop and end TB.
Here are the innovative approaches in Kenya as stated by AMREF to stop the spread of TB:
- Young but effective
- Arobaini initiative
- Ice cream for I-screen
- Smart TB biometric system
- TB self-screening
- Tibika jikinge
- TB screening in matatus
- And much more as explained in detail in https://newsroom.amref.org/innovative-health-services-solutions/2019/08/kenyas-innovative-approaches-to-find-tb-missing-cases/
Gladys 
Hoping with time the treatment of TB will be available and affordable by all people in the country.
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Time tells it all,,
Hoping that everything will get better soon for TB patients
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I didn’t know tuberculosis could be deadly to that extent.
But it is a good move the government of Kenya is taking to combat it
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Yeah
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The same dedication that was put to stop COVID 19 should be seen in stopping TB.
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Very true,, alot needs to be done
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The ministry of health should put more focus on TB as well
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In terms of finances, resources (medicine) manpower (doctors etc)
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Very informative article
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Good content
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