Tuberculosis (TB) is a prominent global health issue, with Timor-Leste listed among the ten countries with the highest incidence rates. TB primarily affects the lungs, but can also infiltrate other parts of the body including the nervous system, bones, joints, brain, and blood. It is a communicable disease, spreading through the air when an infected individual coughs, sings, laughs, or sneezes.
Maluk Timor’s TB program aims to reduce tuberculosis by identifying cases, conducting testing, education and infection control. Household contact tracing is an important part of our program to control infection by tracing and screening household contacts for TB. In 2023 our team screened 6,134 household contacts for TB.