 |
| Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis programmes
The Red Cross and Red Crescent approach
is to fully complement national and international efforts
to control tuberculosis. To achieve this, National Societies
are committed to scaling up their activities through an International
Federation coordinated effort, which aims to:
- Increase awareness among Red Cross and Red Crescent health
workers, volunteers and other relevant local health managers
of the enormous threats posed by the expanding TB pandemic.
- Advocate for the development of appropriate health policies
for TB control (i.e. DOTS) and for full respect of human
rights and assurance that TB patients are treated with dignity
and respect.
- Encourage donors to support the full implementation of
the DOTS strategy;
- Expand and implement community health education initiatives
focusing on TB prevention and treatment to include core
groups of trained nurses and Red Cross and Red Crescent
volunteer networks;
- Increase public awareness of TB through the national media
and the production and distribution of educational pamphlets
and video;
- Facilitate TB diagnosis through the provision of basic
laboratory equipment to health facilities and training of
the appropriate persons in laboratory techniques;
- Offer social support to patients as an incentive to assure
compliance to TB chemotherapy including: bus fares for patients
to nearest health facility, hot meals, food parcels, hygiene
parcels, second hand clothing for patients and families;
- Expand the Red Cross and Red Crescent visiting nurses
programme to include monitoring of TB therapy through the
DOTS programme.
|
|
 |
A patient recieves the
initial DOTS-treatment |
|
|
| Delivery mechanisms
Most National Societies have extensive
experience in working as an auxiliary to their Ministry of
Health. Moreover, many of them support community visiting
nurses programmes whose function has traditionally been to
provide direct social and home care of people. These nurses
can be retrained to work within the TB control programme to
provide social support and health care to patients, including
the assurance of complete treatment. Finally, Red Cross Red
Crescent volunteers can be trained to provide community health
education and awareness information. |
|
In
a pilot project in East Kazakhstan, nurses have received
training and visit TB patients in their homes to control
the patient's treatment. |
 |
|
|
Partners and supporters
National ministries of health, international
organizations and non-governmental organizations consider
the Red Cross Red Crescent as a principal partner in preventing
and controlling infectious diseases. One example of this is
the Federation's participation in the Stop
TB initiative. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
