Technical & Implementation Briefs
from Challenge TB and partners
from Challenge TB and partners
This implementation brief summarizes community-based approaches for TB case detection and treatment support implemented in Cambodia, Mozambique, and Myanmar under the Challenge TB project. (FHI 360 2019)
This technical brief shows how the innovative approaches undertaken by the national TB programs in Cambodia and Myanmar with the support of Challenge TB are helping both countries overcome the challenges in TB diagnosis and ensure more accurate results even in areas with difficult access. (FHI 360 2019)
This technical brief documents how Challenge TB increased the treatment coverage of RR-/MDR-TB, improved the quality of DR-TB management, and actively helped countries to plan, implement, and introduce the new TB drugs and regimens, with the aim of improving the treatment outcomes of patients and reducing the treatment gap. (KNCV 2019)
The majority of TB patients in India seek initial treatment from private- sector physicians, this technical brief highlights how the Challenge TB project piloted treatment support interventions for HIV coinfected TB patients and drug-resistant tuberculosis patients in the private health care sector. (PATH 2019)
This technical brief highlights the activities, experiences, and lessons learned under the Challenge TB project whilst supporting the strengthening of DR-TB patient treatment by introducing new drugs and regimens in Ethiopia. (KNCV 2019)
This technical brief highlights the activities, experiences, and impact of the Challenge TB project’s introduction of new drugs and shorter treatment regimens across Kyrgyzstan. (KNCV 2019)
Challenge TB was instrumental in the expansion of GeneXpert service across Ethiopia. This technical brief covers how the project introduced and expanded both GeneXpert and GxAlert bringing rapid diagnostic technology to diagnose TB and drug-resistant TB, improving the quality of TB diagnosis, and helping to find more TB cases. (KNCV 2019)
This case study covers the role of the Challenge TB project in increasing TB case notification in Indonesia (KNCV 2019)
This technical brief describes how Challenge TB improved access to quality treatment and care for TB, DR-TB, and TB/HIV patients by renovating several key facilities in Zambia. (FHI 360 2019)
This technical brief describes Challenge TB’s role in supporting the NTLP to embark on the rapid scale-up of RR-/ MDR-TB treatment in Zambia by providing a comprehensive support package to build the capacity of the program. (FHI 360 2019)
Effective monitoring and evaluation systems are a critical component of a TB program for program management and implementation. This technical brief describes how Challenge TB strengthened M&E systems in the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Program (NTLP) in Zambia. (FHI 360 2019)
This technical brief describes how Challenge TB improved TB IPC measures in selected facilities. The project focused on Kabwe Central Hospital for intensified TB IPC implementation to serve as a model site for facility TB management. (FHI 360 2019)
In 2017, the Zambian National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Program program adopted GeneXpert MTB/RIF as the first line test for TB diagnosis, to improve case detection for susceptible and drug resistant TB. This technical brief describes how Challenge TB helped to ensure a comprehensive, high quality TB diagnostic services by strengthening the national GeneXpert network. (FHI 360 2019)
In 2017, Challenge TB supported the introduction and scale-up of DataToCare connectivity system in the TB program in Zambia. This technical brief describes how this new system facilitated electronic transmission of TB test results and the impact on TB diagnosis and treatment. (FHI 360 2019)
The majority of the ‘missing’ TB cases are found in the large peri-urban slums, informal settlements, and shanty towns in the large cities of TB-endemic countries. This technical brief describes how through the Challenge TB project used active case-finding to find more of the missing TB cases in Zambia (FHI 360 2019)
In recent years, local and international tuberculosis stakeholders have come to recognize the potential of community-based organizations (CBOs) in the fight against TB and other health-related issues. This technical brief describes how through the Challenge TB project PATH led community activities in Tanzania with various partners to the strengthen the organizational capacity of CBOs to sustainably implement community- level activities related to TB prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. (PATH2019)
Nigeria is struggling to make adequate progress in addressing its TB epidemic. In 2016, the NTP identified contact investigation as a key intervention for finding ‘missing’ patients. This technical brief describes how the Challenge TB project initiated a systematic contact investigation intervention in 76 high burden local government areas across the 14 supported states in the country. (KNCV 2019)
Through Challenge TB, PATH partnered with the NTLP and Cardno Tanzania to develop a mobile application that allows people to self-screen for TB using a basic mobile phone to increase knowledge and awareness. This technical brief describes the development process, how the app was implemented, and the results (PATH 2019)
This fact sheet describes how Challenge TB worked to promote early diagnosis and treatment among close contacts of infectious TB patients in Cambodia. (FHI 360 2019)
This fact sheet describes how Challenge TB worked in Cambodia to improve TB case detection by screening for TB among all patients seen at outpatient and inpatient wards of referral hospitals. (FHI 360 2019)
This fact sheet describes how Challenge TB worked in Cambodia to improve TB case detection through screening for presumptive TB among hard to reach populations, particularly among the elderly. (FHI 360 2019)
This fact sheet describes how Challenge TB worked to improve case detection and treatment and to close the diagnosis gap among prisoners in Cambodia. (FHI 360 2019)
This technical highlight describes the managerial, administrative, and environmental control measures taken to reduce the risk of TB infection to patients and staff at the National Institute of Diseases of the Chest & Hospital in Bangladesh. (MSH 2019)
Bangladesh is one of the world’s high MDR-TB burden countries, through the USAID-funded Challenge TB project, the standard operating procedure for shorter treatment regimen (STR) were revised, incorporating active drug safety monitoring and management and adapting current recording and reporting forms to accommodate STR data resulting in increased patient enrollment in shorter treatment regimen under national DR-TB Program. (MSH 2019)
This technical highlight describes the implementation process to establishing a high-quality Bio-Safety Level-3 Laboratory (BSL-3 lab) in Sylhet, Bangladesh as a center of excellence to provide TB and DR-TB diagnostic services, build staff capacity at the regional level, conduct operational research, and serve as a TB education center. (MSH 2019)
Challenge TB has supported the Ethiopian NTP and other government organizations at different levels on introducing and transitioning to quality, affordable, and child-friendly medicines in the correct internationally recommended dosages for drug-sensitive TB. This technical highlight describes the strategic response, implementation, and lessons learned. (MSH 2019)
MSH has developed materials highlighting the technical approaches, results, and lessons from across their TB projects with multiple partners. These technical documents have been collected in this compendium to share their experiences and insights with other partners and implementers. (MSH 2018)
Molecular testing for tuberculosis and rifampicin- resistant TB using the Xpert MTB/RIF® assay has been a game changer since its endorsement by the World Health Organization in 2010. While it has been rolled-out in high burden countries at large-scale, many challenges remain, including accessibility and the availability of services. Using examples from Nigeria and Tajikistan, this technical brief describes successful approaches to optimize Xpert MTB/RIF® testing through the Challenge TB project. (KNCV 2019)
Mobile applications play an important role in field data collection in developing countries. However, poor infrastructure remains a challenge to fully utilizing mobile services. e-TB Manager, an electronic tuberculosis (TB) management system, is a web-based tool used to manage all TB-related data and information needed by national TB control programs. A notable feature is case monitoring, which enables providers to manage susceptible TB, drug-resistant TB, TB-HIV, and pediatric TB cases from diagnosis to treatment outcome in line with WHO guidelines. This technical brief documents the implementation of e-TB Manager offline mode mobile application to manage data entry in areas where there is no network. (MSH 2019)
The National TB Program in Ethiopia is committed to decentralizing and scaling up implementation of drug resistant TB (DR-TB) management by using an alternative ambulatory model to increase access to care. Challenge TB in collaboration with the NTP supported the implementation of PMDT across the country by expanding treatment initiating centers and treatment follow-up centers to ensure access. The global average achievement of DR-TB treatment success was 55%—Ethiopia surpassed it and achieved 75%. Within the model of care, the NTP maintained the core functions of designing policy packages at the national level, building the capacity of the PMDT service within the NTP, ensuring delivery of routine care within the diagnostic and clinical services, and supporting patients during the course of treatment enrollment and follow-up. This technical brief describes the core areas of programmatic management of DR-TB and how the ambulatory model of care has increased access to treatment. (MSH 2019)
To operationalize the TB control strategy in ECSA countries, USAID, through Challenge TB and MSH, has facilitated technical and financial support for pilot cross-border TB interventions that span the region, including border areas. Among the challenges requiring intervention were prompt detection and treatment of TB among mobile populations crossing the borders, harmonization of TB treatments, and design and implementation of a supply chain information system that allows stock information sharing among member countries to ensure continuous availability of TB medicines. (MSH 2019)
For many years, the Ethiopian TB program relied on off-site, workshop-style trainings to meet human resource training needs in its national TB program. This off-site training approach was expensive and often led to staff attrition as health workers were required to stay away from their duty station for several days. With increasing pressure for domestic resource mobilization, new and cost-effective training solutions needed to be explored. (MSH 2019)
The transportation of tuberculosis (TB) specimens in a reliable and efficient manner is essential for effective TB patient care, allowing for faster diagnosis, initiation of treatment, and patient follow- up. This document shares the experiences
of Challenge TB supported countries who have developed and implemented a specimen transportation system for TB. (2019)
One of the primary goals of the Challenge TB project is to increase TB case-finding and notifications by finding more of the missing patients. This document serves as a guide to which steps and what preparations need to be undertaken to successfully organize a mobile truck for TB diagnosis and the team needed to staff it. (2019)