Success Stories

While providing technical assistance to health facilities in Thaba Nchu Sub-District in Mangaung, the THINK team was informed about a 16-year-old that had tested positive for TB at Gaongalelwe Clinic. Recognizing the high transmission risk in schools, the team quickly mobilized to trace contacts at the school and prevent further spread. THINK conducting TB awareness sessions for students and staff The teenager immediately received TB treatment and adherence counselling. The parents and caregivers were also supported and educated to ensure proper involvement and treatment adherence. A meeting with the parents and School Governing Body explained the purpose of contact tracing and [...]

At Hlogotlou Clinic in Sekhukhune District, the ACCELERATE 2 THINK team, working alongside facility staff, identified four tuberculosis (TB) patients that have missed their treatment appointments. Three of these were successfully located and relinked to care, but one patient, a taxi queue marshal at a busy, high-traffic taxi rank, refused to return for treatment. This raised concern, since without treatment he posed a significant risk of TB transmission to passengers and fellow workers at this very crowded location. To address the situation and actively involve the community in TB prevention and treatment adherence effort, the THINK roving team in partnership [...]

At the launch of the USAID-funded ACCELERATE 2 program in Vhembe District in January 2024, the THINK team conducted a baseline assessment of all TB treatment outcomes. The results showed that the district faced a 9% Lost to Follow-Up (LTFU) rate from the July to September 2022 period, indicating that more than 50 TB patients had stopped their TB treatment before completion. The high LTFU rate was a barrier to achieving the district’s TB treatment outcome goals and was contributing to the spread of tuberculosis in the community. THINK's strategy was to help reduce this rate and improve treatment adherence by [...]

A pregnant 24-year-old woman at Harry Gwala Clinic had a history of recurring TB. After being treated in 2020, 2021, and again in May 2024, her last treatment outcome was marked as "completed" in her patient file. However, during a routine file audit in June 2024, the ACCELERATE 2 THINK team found she had been re-initiated on TB treatment for a fourth time based solely on a positive TB NAAT genetic-based test. Given her recent TB history, TB management protocols require a bacteriological culture test for confirmation of bacterial growth before re-treatment. THINK team doing file audits at a [...]