Tuberculosis Implementation Framework Agreement (TIFA) Project Close-out Meeting in Akwa Ibom and Kano States.

Group photo with the Kano State Commissioner of Health represented by the Director of Public Health Kano State Ministry of Health Dr. Ashiru Rajab and the Dankaden of Kano, the Royal Father of the day, Dr Bashir Muhammed.

The Tuberculosis Implementation Framework Agreement (TIFA) project was implemented by JSI Research and Training Institute. KNCV Nigeria implemented the Spot Tent Model of Contact Investigation (STOM) project which employs a systematic approach to TB contact investigation to actively screen household contacts of index TB cases identified from treatment registers of DOT facilities across the thirty-one (31) local Government Areas of Akwa Ibom State while placing eligible household contacts on TPT.  KNCV Nigeria under TIFA also implemented the Social Franchising for TB Contact Investigation (SOFT) project in Kano State from October 2022 to November 2023. The project came to an end with a project dissemination meeting held at Tahir Guest Palace, Kano on 23rd November 2023.

At the end of the project, a meeting was held at the project implementing states to share the comprehensive findings and project impact with stakeholders at both the National and State levels. The meeting serves as a platform for knowledge exchange, with details of project success, challenges, and lessons learned. Leveraging the innovation spot to tent onion model, the TIFA project achieved significant success in identifying screening, and diagnosing TB cases across private and public facilities in the state using a community-based approach for referrals and linkages. The close-out meeting recorded the participation of stakeholders from the National and State TB programs, the State Ministry of Health, the Department of Public Health, Implementing partners, and a diverse mix of private and public stakeholders.
 
The beneficiaries of this intervention extend their gratitude to the funders, USAID through the KNCV Nigeria for the successful implementation of the TIFA project in their respective states. Through the project, over 9,000 index TB cases had their household contacts screened for TB and over 15,000 persons were placed on TB Preventive Therapy a testament to the project’s far-reaching collaborative efforts with the national and state TB programs in enhancing the reach of TB services within the state.

Cross-section of participants at the TIFA STOM close-out dissemination meeting flanked by the Director of Public Health Akwa Ibom, Ministry of Health Dr. Etop Antia.