Sign up to our LEAP Local quarterly newsletter

Mr Macharia’s impact shone through the comprehensive support for the National TB program. The TA provided support with essential tools for success, including the new National Strategic Plan, training for healthcare workers, and technical guidance on implementing both shorter treatment regimens and advanced diagnostics like TrueNat tests. This collaboration even extended to supporting provincial teams on administering the complex BPaL/BPaLM regimen for MDR-TB patients. By providing this multi-faceted toolkit, the TA empowered the National TB program to significantly improve the fight against the disease.

–

The TA focused on supporting the national TB Reference Laboratory by updating SOPs for sample processing and providing hands-on technical support. This led to enhanced efficiency and reliability in laboratory services in Kenya. The TA was instrumental in addressing stock shortages, particularly for line probe assays and pretomanid powders, thereby averting potential disruptions in TB diagnostics and treatment. In addition, support was offered to policy and technical guidelines development, which assisted in the finalisation of the TB-NSP and community TB preventative treatment SOPs. This strengthened the policy framework and operational guidelines for TB management in Kenya.

Assistance from the TA resulted in the successful completion of 3HP forecasting, receipt of TrueNat tests, and debriefing provincial teams on the BPaL/BPaLM regimen for MDR-TB patients.