From 17 August 2021, the Opt4TPT Study team in Zimbabwe led by the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) started enrolling patients initiating on 3HP, a short course TB preventive treatment or Isoniazid prevention treatment (IPT) at three public health facilities:
The study observes adult patients receiving HIV care and receiving TPT including 3HP once a week for 12 weeks or IPT daily for 6 months. Study sites are comprised of 3HP sites and IPT sites to provide a holistic outlook on TPT service delivery. The patients will be followed for 24 months as part of a three-year programmatic assessment of TPT delivery to generate critical knowledge to improve TPT uptake, implementation, and outcomes and provide a holistic outlook on TPT service delivery.
“The integration of HIV and TB in health services provision continues to be of paramount importance. The Zimbabwe TB epidemic is largely HIV-driven with a coinfection rate of 54% in 2020.” said Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) Dr Constantino Chiwenga during the official commemoration of World TB Day in Harare.
TB remains the leading cause of death in Zimbabwe especially among people living with HIV. According to WHO, every day close to 28 000 people fall ill from TB and nearly 4 000 people lose their lives to this preventable and curable disease.
This study will create an important understanding of TPT uptake and completion from the patient perspective and delivery from the health system perspective.
See current TB country statistics for Zimbabwe here
