WHO Country Office in Somalia

 

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Tuberculosis Control
 

 The core functions of WHO’s tuberculosis programme are:
• Technically supporting all Somalia stakeholders in TB control
• Designing and implementing operational research
• Continuous training provided to the health workers
• Supplying quality-assured drugs, laboratory reagents, materials and equipments
• Quality control and assurance of TB laboratory services
 

Epidemiology of TB in Somalia

Tuberculosis control has been a priority for WHO Somalia, national health authorities and partners due to the high incidence rates in Somalia in the past years. National guidelines have been developed with the implementation of the directly observed therapy short course (DOTS) as a major tuberculosis control strategy. The national TB programme started implementing DOTS in 1995, and has succeeded in establishing at least one TB centre in each of Somalia’s 18 regions.
In 2007, 11 130 cases were reported from health facilities working under DOTS of which 6144 were smear positive new cases. The TB case detection in Somalia rose from 73% in 2007 to 77% in 2008. A total of 12,481 cases of TB were reported in 2008 across the country.

Due to the common co-infection of TB and HIV, data management systems are being developed to include both infections. Health workers are being offered training on co-infections at ART and TB centres.

Multi-drug resistant TB is also an emerging problem for the Somalia TB programme. To tackle this, WHO Somalia plans to conduct a multi-drug resistant TB survey in response to concerns over growing drug resistance within TB treatment.


TB Control initiatives in 2009

Assessing the levels of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in Somalia
At the end of September, WHO trained 11 health workers across Puntland on aspects of managing multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). The capacity-building workshop comes ahead of a planned survey for Somalia that will assess the prevalence of MDR-TB as part of surveillance efforts to address this emerging public health problem.  

Health workers from the regions of Somalia undergoing training on management of MDR-TB

                            ©WHO/Somalia

Participants in the workshop included doctors who in the survey will collect data from TB patients using a standard questionnaire and laboratory technicians who will directly collect sputum smears for culture and drug resistance testing. The workshop included practical sessions for completion of questionnaires and the collecting, storing, packaging and transporting of sputum smears to ensure that procedures comply with International Air Transport Association (IATA)
regulations.                                

An additional 84 health workers from Somaliland and South Central Somalia received a similar training from 11 to 25 October 2009.