TB and HIV: Fighting a dual epidemic in Africa
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homepage | MDG 6: HIV, AIDS, malaria and
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factsheet
 A
vicious circle is turning TB into one of Africa's biggest killers of people with
AIDS - as people living with HIV and AIDS develop life-threatening TB which in
turn accelerates HIV progression.
But an initiative from the World Health Organisation (WHO), which was
part-funded by DFID and carried out by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine (LSHTM), may help to break the circle.
The ProTEST project investigated how to interrupt
the sequence of events by which HIV infection fuels the tuberculosis epidemic,
by promoting Voluntary Counselling and Testing as an entry point to a range of
services.
Encouraging voluntary testing
The ProTEST project encouraged people to go for
voluntary HIV tests and TB screening at six clinics in Malawi, South Africa and
Zambia: DFID funded the two clinics in Zambia.
People who were discovered to have active TB were referred to national TB
services - while others were offered preventative drug treatment. Those with HIV
were offered counselling and further support services - including home-based
care and the use of a hospice. People were also shown how to reduce the risk of
HIV and TB infection.
More than 140,000 people came for voluntary counselling and testing as part
of the ProTEST projects; while WHO estimates that the initiative helped to
prevent thousands of new HIV and TB infections.
As a result, more people are finding out their HIV status. Those who are not
infected are counselled to help themselves to remain uninfected. Those who are
infected are referred into available care and support services as they need them
The governments of all three
countries involved are now looking to expand joint TB/HIV activities nationally
and there are plans to implement the initiative across a further five countries
in southern and east Africa.
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Key facts
- The Zambian project was funded by a DFID Innovations Grant from 1999-2001
with a budget of £197,043 pounds
- In Zambia, the Central Board of Health, included ProTEST expansion to all
districts of the country in its proposal to the GFATM and sub-contracted
ZAMBART to develop the first training packages to train early-adopting
districts in the ProTEST model of collaboration and combined TB/HIV care
- Results from the ProTEST initiative have helped the
 Stop
TB Partnership in its work to cure TB and manage HIV. Since 2002, DFID
has provided £2 million in funding to the Partnership
- DFID has pledged £259 million over 2002-08 to the Global
Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria
- Halting and reversing the spread of TB is part of the sixth
Millennium Development Goal to combat killer diseases in the developing
world.
- 24 March is World
TB Day
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