Why is TB preventive therapy (TPT) important in your community?
TPT is important in my community because it helps protect vulnerable groups at high risk from getting tuberculosis (TB). These groups include people living with HIV (PLHIV) and child contacts of people with confirmed TB cases under five years old. People with TB infection are not sick. They take their TB preventive therapy (TPT) medication before the infection develops into TB disease, which means they are treated while they are not sick. This makes TPT treatment way easier than treating the TB disease, hence the saying, “prevention is better than cure.”
What gaps do you think are most important to address in the TPT progress of your country?
It’s important for recipients of care to have full control of their health. This can only be achieved when communities are aware of the importance of preventing TB, the available TPT options to choose from, and who is at most risk of TB and why.
What does it mean for you to be an IMPAACT4TB grantee?
Being an IMPAACT4TB grantee is life-changing for me, my organization, and the communities we represent. Through IMPAACT4TB, we managed to have continuous access to up-to-date information about TPT and how we can contribute as communities in advocacy for affordable, quality, and accessible TPT options.
What is your message for this World TB Day, 24 March 2021?
Every second, the clock is ticking and we need to accelerate our efforts to end TB in our lifetime! Ending TB will be possible if we quickly embrace TPT as a key compliment to finding and treating TB disease.