TB Program

Working together to EndTB through identification and education

Using tracing, triage, and training to fight this entirely preventable disease

Despite being all but eradicated in the developed world, Turburculosis (TB) is still one of the country’s biggest killers.

Timor-Leste has the highest rate of death from TB in the world.

What are we doing?

TB Tracing and Referral

We screen family and household contacts of TB patients to help identify cases and refer confirmed cases for a TB specific antibiotic treatment schedule. If the risk is high enough, we also refer close contacts for preventative treatment at a community health centres.

We also work together with local laboratories to screen samples using GeneXpert testing to identify Multi-Drug Resistant TB which requires special care.

In 2021 we:

Identified 1,202 household contacts for preventative treatment

Multi Drug Resistance TB Progam

Treatment of multi drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) requires a long and complex regimen of drugs with multiple side effects. Patients also suffer from stigma in a society and fear.

We educate previous patients as TB Champions to educate, counsel and support MDR-TB patients when newly diagnosed and throughout their whole treatment.

Our peer counsellors travel to the patient’s home (with consent) to provide education to their family members on TB, in order to assist adherence of TB treatment and to conduct contact tracing.

So far we have:

Provided MDR TB screening across 3 districts

Cough Triage Training

We teach each nurses to identify and screen patients presenting to hospitals with chest symptoms. Better screening allows us to will determine if the person if suspect TB.

Patients who are at risk of having airborne infectious disease such as TB or COVID are separated from other patients in a “cough corner” treated by healthcare workers using a higher level of personal protective equipment

So far we have agreed:

To create cough corners in all 6 public hospitals

TB education and counselling

We also work in collaboration with local laboratories to screen samples using

In 2021 we:

Educated 133 community members on MDR-TB

Systems improvement

Together with the Timor-Leste Ministry of health we are always looking at ways of improving systems to better mangage TB in the healtcare system.

A key element of systems improvement has been the implementation of a referall feedback mechanism that ensures that patients get better care when their case is passed between healthcare providers in different locations.