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TIBU A system to radically reduce TB


Do you know that the incidence of Tuberculosis can come down by 10 percent every year? Yes, this is indeed possible by a unique programme called TIBU which can help in controlling the dreaded disease. TIBU is a programme that is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Health, Safaricom and its partners iridium Interactive Ltd and Tangazoletu Ltd funded by USAID.Kenya ranks 15th in a list of 22 high burden TB affected countries in the world. It is estimated that more than 1.8 million people all over the world die due to Tuberculosis (TB). It is the world’s greatest killer next to HIV and Aids.

It is difficult to imagine that more than 150,000 people are affected by TB in Kenya every year and it is one of the major causes of mortality in the country. Do you know that in 2010 alone there were about 10 million orphan children as a result of TB deaths among parents throughout the world? It is very difficult to treat a HIV person infected with TB, and what is worse is that they have the potential to infect 15 others.

The estimated number of people falling ill with tuberculosis every year is declining, though very slowly. That is good news, for it means that the disease is being contained. The introduction of the new digital programme called TIBU that will help in controlling TB and managing the data of patients affected by the disease and ensuring zero TB tolerance by the year 2015.

Dr Shahnaz Sharif, the Director of Public Health and Sanitation said TIBU was model that was specially created to ensure proper data management and monitoring of data of all the TB patients in the country. One of the essential features of the programme is that it not only keeps a track of the progress on the treatment of patients but it also keeps a track of patients who have defaulted in their treatment.

TIBU is a unique model that specifically takes care of the challenges of data management and ensures tracking and monitoring the data of all TB patients throughout the country and successfully keep track of their treatment progress. The system also provides incentives to the patients for ensuring that they complete the full course of treatment – Patient Support Allowance – which will be provided through M-Pesa.

The cost of the first phase has been estimated at about Sh. 43 million while the second phase that involves rolling out the programme throughout the country will cost about Sh.130 million. The TIBU integration platform is DISH2 system of social services delivery using mobile technology.

The best part about TIBU is that it simplifies the health delivery services and provides an equitable platform for tackling the disease. The TIBU Collaborative Programme is a revolution in Health Service Delivery and as they say, it is simple, efficient, and trustworthy.

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“TIBU A system to radically reduce TB”