Kadala Said, 45, lives in the heart of rural Tanzania with her husband and eight children—a big, happy family. Thanks to a vigilant neighbor, Kadala was able to identify tuberculosis (TB) in her family and take steps to recover from it. This is her story.
“Just three houses from my home lives a child who became very fond of me. She would enjoy having me around and would follow me everywhere I went, even to my house. We became very close. During our interactions, I noticed she had a cough, but it did not bother me at all because in my mind I was convinced that what she had was a normal cough.
“A few months later, I fell sick and started coughing. News about my condition reached my neighbor who was the mother of the child I was fond of. She came to see me and quickly advised me to go to a nearby health facility for TB screening, she told me that her child with whom I had been spending time had been diagnosed with TB. Even with this information, I still did not bother to go the hospital, as I thought that I just needed some time of rest and then I would be back on my feet.
“My neighbor was persistent—she continued to beg me to go to the hospital, and after seeing that I was not responsive, she waited a few days until my husband was home and spoke to him about it. “My husband did not wait any further. He immediately took me to the Kizengi Dispensary, a health facility nearby, where I was attended to by a healthcare worker. He screened me for TB, and when I was tested positive for TB, he prescribed me the right medication.
“The healthcare worker continued to constantly follow up on me and advised that my children should also go for screening. I am glad he did, because three of my children were also found to be TB-positive and were also enrolled on treatment.
“Everyone has continued treatment and recovered from TB. My family is well now, and we are happy.”
The USAID Afya Yangu Northern is designed around client-centered approaches to address gaps in HIV, TB, and family planning service delivery, while continuously building and transferring the capacity of local stakeholders for sustainable and country-led ownership. USAID Afya Yangu Northern focuses intensely on direct service delivery across all regions in early project years, ensuring that gaps to epidemic control are identified, and tailored solutions are designed to meet the needs of vulnerable populations.
Photo by Nuru Ngailo/Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation