The engagement of all care providers in tuberculosis (TB) case finding is an essential element of the 2009–2016 Strategic Plan of the Tanzania National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Programme (NTLP). This is in line with the World Health Organization (WHO) and Stop TB Partnership recommendation for public-private mix (PPM) to support DOTS implementation, and supports the NTLP’s goal of decreasing TB-related morbidity and mortality in the country.
With funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Systems for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services (SIAPS) program, the NTLP piloted an intervention designed to increase early TB case detection through the engagement of the retail pharmaceutical sector in identifying and referring persons with presumptive TB for assessment. The pilot was conducted between August 2011 and December 2013 in pharmacies in Dar es Salaam, an urban setting, and accredited drug dispensing outlets (ADDOs) in Morogoro, a rural setting. This report describes the key activities that were conducted, as well as the challenges and accomplishments of the pilot project.
