DUSHANBE, June 1, 2011, Asia-Plus — The International Meeting of the working group to adopt PAL (Practical approach to Lung Health) strategy in Tajikistan took place on May 18-19, as part of Community based tuberculosis prevention project in Southern Tajikistan Project, funded by the European Union (EU), the Delegation of the European Union in Tajikistan reported on June 1.
The Meeting was organized by the Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan (RCST) and Finnish Red Cross in collaboration with Ministry of Health, and enjoyed the participation of FILHA (Finnish Lung Health Association), WHO and representatives from Kyrgyzstan who shared their experiences of PAL strategy with the Tajik health authorities.
As outcomes of the meeting, FILHA is planning to start cooperation with UNDP and WHO to support MOH in PAL issues. The emphasis will be training of trainers and practical training on how to use equipment provided for patient examination. FILHA will apply funds from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland for a three year project concerning PAL adoption in Tajikistan.
Tajikistan has the highest Tuberculosis (TB) incidence rate in the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) European Region. The risk factors include lack of public awareness on prevention, symptoms and treatment of tuberculosis, delayed diagnostics and interrupted or incomplete treatment regimes. The aim of the Community based tuberculosis prevention project in Southern Tajikistan Project is to reduce the TB related morbidity and mortality in Tajikistan, as well as to prevent and treat effectively TB in target communities through RCST community based volunteer activities. These activities are auxiliaries to the formal health structures at Primary Health Care level in Tajikistan. The target districts are Vose and Hamadomi, altogether 127 villages in Khatlon province with the total population of 320 000.
The activities of the project, to be implemented until December 2012, include: 1) community based support to increase the general population and specifically risk group’s awareness of TB and reduction of stigma and discrimination; 2) specific individual and household level TB testing and treatment support including psychosocial support aiming to treatment completion; and 3) support to strengthening the professional capacity of key Primary Health Care staff on early identification of possible TB cases and on proper treatment protocols and good coordination.
