Tuberculosis (TB) was once thought to have been facing global eradication, however the last few years have seen a resurgence of the disease. In many of the more remote parts of Sri Lanka, TB remains a serious problem.
The level of public awareness in rural areas is such that people are often unable to recognise the symptoms of the disease and many fail to understand that TB is a treatable condition.
Despite years of reasonably successful government vaccination programs a considerable number of people, particularly the elderly, remain unvaccinated.
The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFTAM) recently began a project to increase awareness of the symptoms and potential treatments of the disease among vulnerable communities in Sri Lanka.
Working with the Government and local non-governmental organisations, GFTAM evaluated the shortcomings of current disease prevention and treatment mechanisms so that a program could be designed to effectively reach vulnerable communities.
The evaluation found that although the Government maintains a wide network of respiratory health clinics, officials at these centers have only limited access to the rural population.
It was therefore arranged for Sewalanka Foundation, through its wide network of community-based organisations (CBOs) to coordinate community meetings where local health officials can conduct comprehensive TB awareness programs.
At the meetings doctors and nurses from local clinics deliver presentations, distribute leaflets and show films and cartoons that teach community members about the symptoms of the disease and make them aware of the possibility of treatment.
The meetings themselves provide an opportunity for health workers to diagnose patients and deliver medication. More than 357 of these awareness programs have so far been successfully conducted, reaching more than 15,000 participants.
The next stage of the initiative will involve training members of CBOs to conduct the TB awareness programs autonomously, making the program more sustainable.
The scale of the project and the amount of progress made in little more than a year raises hopes that Sri Lanka may yet be able to look forward to a TB free future.
