Event

COVID-19 restrictions in Cambodia have prevented KHANA and its team from organizing community events for TB awareness and screening, running the outreach mobile digital solutions using GenXpert and X-ray machines to community for TB screening, testing, and diagnosis. So far, KHANA has aimed to increase the community roles in supporting TB affected people to still access to TB testing, diagnosis, and treatment services during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Lay Counselors, Seeds and Recruits who experienced living with TB were contracted to meet one on one with the TB presumptive clients to conduct the pool collection of sputum. After this, the mobile outreach team of GenXpert and X-ray machines were to test and provide the diagnosis on the pool collecting sputum at the health facility. This prevents crowded gatherings, by maintaining the physical distancing, yet increasing the access of TB affected communities to TB testing, diagnosis, and treatment services. From October 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020, within ten rural districts, where the COMMIT project funded by USAID is working, there were 27,917 people screened for TB and out of this, 9,526 identified as TB presumptive clients and 9,241 got TB tests. Amongst those who tested TB, there were 823 cases diagnosed all forms TB and 197 as bacteriologically confirmed TB cases and supported to enroll into treatment.  This result is still less than 50% of the planned target. However, the TB affected people who are demanding TB services were not left behind and were not overlooked during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sok Chamreun Choub, Executive Director, KHANA
Tuot Sovannary, Research Manager, KHANA