Polish Aid supports a further development of the APOPO program to combat tuberculosis in Tanzania
13.12.2022
Katarzyna Sobiecka, a representative of the Polish Embassy in Dar es Salaam, visited a laboratory of the APOPO non-governmental organization, whose mission is to train and use southern giant rats in order to provide innovative methods i.a. in the fight against tuberculosis, one of the infectious diseases causing the highest number of deaths in the world.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Tanzania is a country with a high TB incidence rate. The WHO estimates that only 59% of Tanzania's TB patients are diagnosed and treated - due to persistent barriers in the access to healthcare, limitations in access to diagnostic tests and delays in diagnosis. Childhood TB seems still highly neglected here.
In 2022, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Dar es Salaam continued its support for APOPO's activities using the funds available within Polish Aid. The aim of the project was to speed up the detection of tuberculosis in Tanzania using the great sense of smell of southern giant rats and to improve the care of affected adults and children.
Thanks to the project, from June to November 2022, a total of 15,972 adults and 1,024 children with symptoms of tuberculosis were screened. A total of 807 additional adult patients and 78 additional pediatric patients (beyond standard examinations) were diagnosed using the giant rat method. 90% of the children who were diagnosed as additional patients have received a free TB treatment.
The project successfully expanded APOPO's activities to four new clinics in Dar es Salaam and the capital, Dodoma.
