She Feared TB Would Destroy Her, But This Karamojan Woman Is Fighting Back —for Herself and Her Community

March 22, 2018It all started with a conversation.At 34, Anyese thought her life was over. She was suffering from a continuous cough that had lasted for more than a month, and she was worried she might have tuberculosis (TB).Anyese ’s home is in Lorikokwa village in Moroto District, Uganda, one of many villages in the remote region of Karamoja. The region lags behind the rest of the nation in health service coverage, health-seeking behaviors, and other human development measures.The burden of TB in Karamoja is high relative to other parts of the country. Some districts in the region —such as Kotido, Moroto, and Napak—are reporting staggering numbers of cases (266, 366, and 429 per 100,000 population respectively compared to the national incidence estimate of 202 cases per 100,000). And these numbers don’t reflect unreported cases.Challenges to treating and preventing TB in the region include:inadequate screening in communities and hotspotspoor housingmalnutritionpastoralist behavioral practicespovertyincreased multi-drug resistancestigmalack of TB knowledge.  These issues hamper health workers ’ efforts to control the disease and contribute to preventable illness and death.This is why the IntraHealth International-ledUSAID Regional Health Integration to Enhance Services in Eastern Uganda (RHITES-E) Activity is helping the government of Uganda provide more high-quality health services in Karamoja by strengthening the health systems and improving the quality of, acces...

Source: IntraHealth International - March 22, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: intrahealth Source Type: news