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NATIONAL CHILDHOOD TB TESTING WEEK IN KNCV SUPPORTED STATES

WoW community ACF intervention at Sambuwal village in Shira LGA, Bauchi State

The Nationwide Childhood TB Testing Week organized by National Tuberculosis Leprosy and Buruli Ulcer Control Program is an annual week-long event that aims to raise awareness about the importance of testing children for Tuberculosis (TB). The event provides an opportunity for parents, caregivers, health workers, and the general public to come together and learn more about TB testing in children.

This year’s Testing Week took place between May 22nd to May 26th, 2023. During this week, various activities were organized to promote TB testing in children, including community and school outreach programs, free TB testing for children at health facilities and mobile clinics, training and capacity building for health workers on childhood TB diagnosis and treatment, and advocacy for increased funding and resources for childhood TB control programs.
By participating in this event, individuals and communities can help prevent the spread of TB and ensure that affected children receive prompt and appropriate treatment.
Nationwide National Childhood TB Week plays a crucial role in the global fight against childhood tuberculosis. By raising awareness, strengthening healthcare systems, fostering collaboration, and advocating for policy change, this dedicated week contributes to reducing the burden of childhood TB and improving the lives of affected children. However, the battle against childhood TB requires sustained efforts beyond a single week, necessitating continued investment, research, and commitment from all stakeholders to ensure a TB-free future for all children.
 
KNCV Nigeria actively participated in the 14 USAID TB LON 1&2 States where we work. This involved screenings conducted with DLB, and TB Testing with TB LAMP, Truenat, and Genexpert platforms in formal and informal schools (Tsangaya, Almajiris) IDP Camps, Immunization clinics, Nutrition clinics, and Orphan and vulnerable children (OVCs)

Child TB/HIV Testing activities in PHC Barnawa, Kaduna State
Portable Digital X-ray in use at Ozalla Primary School Abagana(Njikoka) in Anambra State.

2023 WORLD TB DAY COMMEMORATION IN KNCV NIGERIA'S 14 STATES

Group photograph of the NTBLCP, KNCV, and implementing partners at the 2023 World TB Day road walk.
In line with KNCV’s commitment to adopting innovative ways to provide outstanding and excellent services to the people whom it serves. KNCV deploys innovative service delivery for the timely distribution of vaccines across central and northern cross-river, to break the barrier of prolonged vaccine stockout, weak health systems and delayed distribution of health commodities are some factors affecting vaccine and healthcare accessibility. To address these challenges, innovative service delivery models such as drones are developed and implemented to facilitate a faster supply of vaccines and healthcare commodities to people in need. Drones are to deliver medicines and other supplies to remote and hard-to-reach areas, where traditional delivery methods are often unreliable or unavailable . During a meeting with the SIO amidst the prolonged vaccine stock out, it was suggested that Zipline logistics could be used to deliver vaccines to central and northern Cross River due to their fast delivery service. It was acknowledged by the SIO and she promised to discuss the issue with the DG of CRSPHCDA to review the idea, given that the Cross River State government had already signed an MOU with Zipline logistics, enabling them to incorporate vaccine distribution into the agreement. After a few days, feedback was received that as soon as vaccines were supplied to the state, Zipline logistics would step in to help with their distribution. Additionally, a courtesy visit was paid to the Zipline logistics nest in the state located in Ogoja LGA, during which a list of facilities KNCV was currently working with in the region was requested so that they could be included in their next onboarding. Presently, Zipline logistics is assisting with vaccine distribution to central and northern clusters by delivering them via drone to linked public health centers (PHCs).

USAID NIGERIA HAND OVER OF TB DIGNOSTIC EQUIPMENT TO NIGERIA

The USAID Director Office of HIV/AIDS and TB, Rachel Goldstein, with the National Coordinator NTBLCP Dr. Chukwuma Anyaike performing the ribbon cutting ceremony

USAID/Nigeria ofiicially handed over the donation of state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment and preventive therapy medicines,TB diagnostics machines [10 Delf light backpack X-ray machine, 38 Truenat machines TB preventive medicines for the treatment of Latent TB infection] to Nigeria on November 29th 2021.
In attendance were the USAID Director Office of HIV/AIDS and TB, Rachel Goldstein, National Coordinator NTBLCP Dr. Chukwuma Anyaike and team, Team Lead USAID HIV/TB Dr. Temitayo Odusote, Executive Director, KNCV TB Foundation Nigeria Dr. Bethrand Odume and team, IHVN CEO Dr. Mensah and team, alongside other Stakeholders.

KNCV Director of Laboratory Services, Dr. Nkiru Nwokoye demonstrating how to use the Truenat machine
The USAID consultant for the New tools project Dr. Austin Ihesie demonstrating how to use the DLB Xray machine
Group photo of stakeholders at the event

The Cepheid “make it happen” Award won by KNCV Nigeria WoW Team was officially presented to KNCV Nigeria on the 26th of April virtually via Zoom.

The Award

Flag off of WoW community TB Testing in Kano State.

The Flag off of WoW community TB outreach at Tsamiyar Boka PHC to mark the 2021 WTBD by the Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje OFR

2021 World TB Day Celebration

The theme of World TB Day 2021 – ‘The Clock is Ticking’ –conveys the sense that the world is running out of time to act on the commitments to end TB made by global leaders. The NTBLCP in collaboration with KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation Nigeria and other implementing partners marked this year’s celebration with a variety of activities in all 36 states including the 14 states where we are located in Nigeria.

Congratulations! The Wow Truck Won the Cepheid “Make It Happen” Award.

The WoW truck has been internationally recognized and awarded the “Make it Happen” Award by Cepheid – an American molecular diagnostics company.

The team represented Nigeria in the global event and came out tops beating out other competitors.

We are so proud!

THANK YOU CEPHEID.

KNCV today deployed the Delft Light backpack to the field

Positioning of a patient at the X-ray machine using the Delft backpack
Patients waiting to be tested at Atabong Beach, Okobo LGA of Akwa Ibom State

KNCV TB Foundation Nigeria Presentation Slots at the 51st Union Virtual Conference. October 20-24th

The KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation Nigeria team led by our Executive Director, Dr. Bethrand Odume will be presenting Abstracts at the 51st Union World Conference on lung health. Date is on the 20-24th October, 2020.

The event this year will be a virtual conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Below is the list of KNCV Nigeria Abstract topics and authors with the presentation time slots.

Please click link to download PDF file.

http://kncvnigeria.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Union-conference-sessions_Presentation-Time-Slots_KNCV-Nigeria.pdf

The flag-off of the integrated community COVID TB Active Case Finding using the WoW truck in Owerri Imo State on the 7th of September 2020

The flag-off of the integrated community COVID TB Active Case Finding using the WoW truck in Owerri Imo State on the 7th of September, 2020 was a success.  

 

KNCV TB Foundation is implementing the TB LON Regions 1 and 2 projects in Imo State and 13 other states in the country with funding from USAID. 

The KNCV TB Foundation is partnering with the Imo State Ministry of Health in their community based COVID response with the wellness on wheels (WoW) truck which is to assist the state’s COVID-19 response through the improvement of its testing capacity using the new Xpress SARS-CoV-2 cartridges in the two 4-modular GeneXpert machines installed in the WoW truck. This will enable the state to achieve its aim of testing at least one percent of its 6 million inhabitants. 

This technology operationalized in a mobile truck, the Wellness on Wheel (WoW) improves access to quality TB diagnostics in communities and high-volume patient facilities and contributes to an increase in TB case finding and reduction in turn-around-time of test results during TB case finding campaigns since 2014. This experience will be used in supporting the Imo State Government to use the same truck as a one-stop-shop diagnostic platform using the Xpress SARS-COV-2 to improve access to COVID 19 and TB diagnoses in the State. 

 

The intervention is a collaborative effort of the State Ministry of Health and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through the TB Local Organisations Network (LON) project implemented by KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation Nigeria. 

Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation, Dr. Bethrand Odume said that the approach is to integrate COVID case finding with TB.  

 

COVID and TB have some similarities; both primarily affect the lungs with similar symptoms and now can be diagnosed using same tool,  the Genexpert machine in the WoW truck  which can provide a quick diagnosis with the result out within 2 hours of testing”. 

 

The State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Damaris Osunkwo commissioned the Mobile Laboratory Truck at the Emergency Operation Centre inside the Imo State Specialist Hospital. The mobile diagnostic truck will be used to test Covid-19 and Tuberculosis in the state.  

 

She was accompanied by the Executive Director of  KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation Nigeria, Dr. Odume Bethrand, and his team and other notable personalities of the World Health Organization and State TB program

 

“Some people have been worried that the COVID testing we’ve been doing in the state was only in the Municipal, we really wanted to go to all the Local Government Areas. This will help us and the world to know the real burden of this disease” She said. 

 

The commissioner called on all Imo people to come out and get tested for free while stating that Governor Hope Uzodinma assures that those who test positive will receive free treatment in the state’s designated Isolation centers. 

 

PHOTO STORIES

Flag-off of the Imo State Community testing for COVID-19 with TB integration at the Imo State Specialist Hospital, Owerri by the Honourable Commissioner of Health, Dr. Damaris Osunkwo along with the Executive Director of KNCV, Dr. Bethrand Odume and other Partners on Monday 7th September, 2020.
KNCV Nigeria ED and Team
The Imo State Hounorable Commissioner of Health, Dr. Damaris Osunkwo climbing the WoW Truck for inspection during the commissioning of the community testing for COVID-19 in Imo state on Monday September 7, 2020.
The Imo State Commissioner of Health inside the WoW Truck during the commissioning of the community testing for COVID-19 in Imo state on Monday September 7, 2020
The Imo State Hounorable Commissioner of Health, Dr. Damaris Osunkwo with the ACF Coordinator Dr. Temidayo Fawole and ACF Radiographer, Mrs Adeola Izokpu explaining the radiograph process in the Radiography section of the WoW Truck during the commissioning of the community testing for COVID-19 in Imo state on Monday September 7, 2020.
Director of Public Health and the PRO to the SMOH inspecting the WoW Truck
An interview of the Executive Director of KNCV, Dr. Bethrand Odume (the Imo State TB program control officer at the background to his right) during the commissioning of the community testing for COVID-19 in Imo state on Monday September 7, 2020
The Imo State Hounorable Commissioner of Health, Dr. Damaris Osunkwo with the Director of Public Health, ACF Coordinator Dr. Fawole and the Executive Director of KNCV Dr. Bethrand Odume to her right; NCDC team lead Chimezie Anueyiagu and WHO representative to her left during the commissioning of the community testing for COVID-19 in Imo state on Monday September 7, 2020.
Registration of a presumptive TB case during the COVID-19/TB integration at the Imo State Specialist Hospital, Owerri during the commissioning of the community testing of COVID-19 in Imo State on Monday September 7, 2020
Positioning of a patient at the Xray machine in the WoW Truck (by the Radiographer assistant, Nsenobong Nathan) after nasopharyngeal sample collection for COVID-19 during the COVID-19/TB integration commissioning at Imo State Specialist Hospital, Owerri on Monday September 7, 2020.
The Imo State Hounorable Commissioner of Health, Dr. Damaris Osunkwo while examining the CAD4 used as artificial intelligence in connection with the Radiography at the Radiography section of the WoW Truck during the commissioning of the community testing for COVID-19 in Imo state on Monday September 7, 2020.

Dr. Mustapha Gidado has become the first non-Dutch professional to man the position of the Executive Director at KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation.

Dr. Mustapha Gidado (PhD, MSc, MPH, & MBBS) has become the first non-Dutch professional to man the position of the Executive Director at KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation, situated at The Hague in Netherlands. Hitherto, he was the Director of the KNCV-led and USAID-funded Challenge TB Project which has significantly contributed to the strengthening of TB programs and services in 22 different countries including Nigeria where he was the KNCV Country Director from 2012 to 2017.

KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation Nigeria Executive Director and team, WHO and State TB PM on an advocacy visit to the Imo State Commissioner of Health

KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation Nigeria Executive Director, Dr. Odume Bethrand and team, WHO and State Tuberculosis PM with the Imo State Commissioner of Health Dr. Mrs. Osunkwo at the State EOC today to explore opportunities for an integrated COVID TB response in the state. #KNCVNigeria #USAID #Imo #TB #COVID19 #NTBLCP#healthcareworkers #advocacy

The KNCV Executive Director, Dr. Bethrand Odume today on a courtesy visit to the IPCD President Dr. Chijioke Osakwe and team.

The KNCV Executive Director, Dr. Bethrand Odume today on a courtesy visit to the IPCD President Dr. Chijioke Osakwe and team. IPCD is partnering with KNCV in PPM for TB control implementation in Nasarawa State under the USAID funded TB LON Regions 1 and 2 Project. #kncvnigeria #USAID #NTBLCP #advocacy #healthcare #tuberculosis #healthcareworkers

The KNCV Team on an advocacy visit to the TB Reference laboratory University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital Rivers.

The KNCV Nigeria Director of Laboratory Services, Dr. Nkiru Nwokoye with the KNCV Team Rivers State on an advocacy visit to the TB Reference laboratory University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital Rivers.

The goal is to intimate the facility with the TB LAMP operational research protocol and get their buy in to participate in the upcoming pilot study aimed at evaluating the accuracy of a novel TB LAMP diagnostic tool.

KNCV is deploying TB LAMP as a replacement tool for AFB diagnosis for improved TB case detection. The deployment is in collaboration with NTBLCP and USAID funding.

 

Advocacy visit to to the Executive Secretary Anambra State Health Insurance Agency

KNCV Team today on an advocacy visit to the Executive Secretary Anambra State Health Insurance Agency Dr Simeon Onyemaechi, Formerly Head M and E Unit at NTBLCP. Great opportunity for PPM working with the Agency in Anambra State. #kncvnigeria #USAIDnigeria #NTBLCP #advocacy #Anambra #TBservices #healthcare
KNCV Team at Gem Lab Onitsha, a mega Lab coming on board for the TB LAMP OR. #kncvnigeria #USAIDnigeria #lab #advocacy #healthcare #partnership #TBservices

The pre-training evaluation for the xpert machines on the WoW truck in kaduna

The pre-training evaluation for the xpert machines on the WoW truck. The training for the use of SARS COV 2 cartridges for WoW truck laboratory team and Kaduna state laboratory team by the KNCV/Cepheid today in Kaduna.

The kncv northern WOW truck in kaduna

The KNCV WoW Northern Truck being welcomed to Kaduna State by the Honourable Commissioner, Permanent Secretary, Director of public health and other members of the state COVID-19 task force ahead of the WoW COVID/TB integrated active case search starting next week.

Dr. Mustapha Gidado becomes acting interim Executive Director of KNCV

We are very pleased to announce that from 1 May 2020 onwards, Dr. Mustapha Gidado is acting as interim Executive Director of KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation. Gidado served as Director Challenge TB and has been employed at KNCV since 2012. We are confident that the acting arrangements assure continuity at an important juncture for the organization.

Dr. Mustapha Gidado, interim Executive Director:

“I wish to most sincerely thank our KNCV Board of Trustees, the Management Team, the Work Council, and the entire KNCV Staff for this rare opportunity I have been given to serve. I am humbled by the great confidence reposed in me to steer the affairs of this strong organization for the next few months. It is my self-fulfilling prophecy that this momentum and change process comes with an opportunity to make us an even stronger and more focused organization guided by its purpose and strategic objectives. We will be mindful of our purpose which is contributing to a reduction in the suffering and death due to TB.”

Advocacy visit to the Benue state commissioner of health

Advocacy visit to the Honourable Commissioner of Health, Benue State
The KNCV Executive Director, Dr. Bethrand Odume and his team on an advocacy visit to the Benue State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Ongbabo Sunday.

PRE- WORLD TB DAY CONFERENCE BY STAKEHOLDERS:

In order to control Tuberculosis,(TB) in Nigeria, government and stakeholders are directing their attention on adolescents and the index cases.

This is to ensure that the missing 300,000 TB cases are detected and diagnosed as well as treated.

Nigeria had in 2015 pledged to end TB by 2030 alongside 193 other countries, but still records a significant number of missing cases yearly, which has stalled the fight against the disease in the country.

READ MORE

Courtesy visit to the Honourable Minister of Health

Some members of KNCV Nigeria Board on a courtesy visit to the Honourable Minister of Health with the National Coordinator National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Program (NTBLCP) and DPH Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH).

advocacy visit to the First Lady of Lagos State

The Executive Director, KNCV Nigeria with other TB Partners working in Lagos on an advocacy visit to the Lagos State First Lady who is the State TB Champion