Focus on
 Published in February 2008
NAMIBIA BACK TO TB STORY

Omaheke Health Education Project

The Omaheke Health Education Project was founded to respond to the steep rise in the TB caseload due to the HIV epidemic which overloaded the public health system. TB is closely linked to HIV due to the weakened immune system of people living with AIDS. OHEP was initiated in 1999 through Oxfam Canada and its approach is to enrol community participation in TB control. It is now funded by the Global Fund.

TB is more common in impoverished communities because of close living conditions and poor diet. The impact of the disease leaves TB patients and their families even more in need as they are unable to work, having to dedicate time and resources to getting better.

The community based care aspect of the project allows TB sufferers to have access to healthcare without having to make the long journey to the local hospital and relies on local trainees and volunteers, easing demands on hospital staff. Community involvement in healthcare is one of the longstanding objectives of the international standard on TB treatment through the DOTS programme. Not only does OHEP extend care services to remote areas, it encourages community members to support each other and has been incredibly successful. The TB cure rate increased from less than 30 percent in 1999 when the project was founded to 89 percent in 2003.



DOTS

Involving the community is the best way to ensure a TB patient has the supportive environment required to stick to the rigorous course of treatment prescribed by the World Health Organisation's DOTS programme. DOTS (directly observed treatment, short-course) is proven to be the most successful and cost-effective treatment strategy to treat tuberculosis. The objectives of the DOTS strategy are to decrease the risk of infection, reduce morbidity and the transmission of infection, and prevent TB deaths. These objectives are achieved through the DOTS strategy by the identification of TB cases and the treatment of TB cases by directly observing their medication intake for six to eight months. This is to ensure that medication is taken in the right combination and appropriate dosage in an effort to prevent the development of multidrug resistant TB.