The project `You Should Know About Tuberculosis` is also working in hard-to-reach communities

Currently, about one hundred people live in the shelter of the Turka community. The same number are in the villages in the private sector.

The local population in the community is 25 thousand. This is a hard-to-reach place that connects Prykarpattia and Zakarpattia, and in a global sense, it is on the route from the Baltic states to the Mediterranean.

The city of Turka has quite a respectable age. Some historians claim that the city was founded as early as the 9th century as a garrison to defend one of the important trade routes, with the first written mention dating back to 1431. It is likely that the city was named after the turas, which were abundant in the surrounding forests. At the end of the 16th century, the owners of the settlement built a wooden castle over the Yablunka River, surrounded on all sides by moats filled with water. Since 1730, Turka became a town. Trade and crafts flourished, and a center with a town hall and a castle was formed. The villages of Stare Selo, Sloboda, Serednya Turka, and Horishni Turka became part of Turka. To distinguish the city from the homonymous one in Stanislav region (now Ivano-Frankivsk region), it was named Turka on the Striy River.

Now Turka is a small town that is slowly reviving. It is known for having the highest peak in Lviv region — Mount Pikuy (1408 m).

In the project "You Should Know About Tuberculosis", social worker Tetyana Andriychyn and doctor-phthisiatrist Lyubomyra Ilnytska are working here. The residents of the shelter are mostly elderly people, often lonely. Therefore, they did not worry much about their health, and added stress came from shelling at home and the need to evacuate. So, through participation in the project "You Should Know About Tuberculosis", one of the women learned about her cancer (screening for suspected tuberculosis (TB) — medical examination with CT — diagnosis).

For example, Ms. Svitlana, born in 1945, is an internally displaced person (IDP) from Luhansk region. In April 2022 (Easter), there was a "hit" in Ms. Svitlana's yard, which damaged a residential building (broke windows, damaged the roof, knocked out doors). Because of this, Mrs. Svitlana was forced to live with a neighbor. But two weeks later, there was also an "arrival" in the neighbor's yard, and Mrs. Svitlana was hit by a shrapnel. The military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine evacuated Ms. Svitlana to a hospital in Bakhmut, where her left upper limb was amputated and in May they evacuated Lviv (Lviv Arena), and from there she was transported to Turka.

Ms. Svitlana has no relatives: her husband died a long time ago, and they had no children. She has health problems, some of which have worsened after the traumas and stress she has experienced. She has hearing problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, vision disturbances, mobility issues, and often feels phantom pains from her lost limb; she moves only indoors with the help of a stick. She needs round-the-clock assistance and care with cooking, shopping, and housekeeping. Social workers have arranged for her access to medical care and medication in Turka — a nurse visits her once a week. Social workers also visit her. The woman participated in the project 'You Need to Know About Tuberculosis' with a positive screening. After that, she was referred for a fluorography, but tuberculosis was not confirmed; only pneumonia was found. In addition to this, Ms. Svitlana experiences constant stress, anxiety, and has sleeping problems.

According to Ms. Svitlana, the assistance is important for her. Since she has no relatives, the visits from the social worker and nurse, as well as the attention they provide, are a very significant support.

In total, this year in the Turka community, screening questionnaires for TB were completed by 355 people, of whom 177 tested positive, all of whom underwent medical examination and 9 cases of tuberculosis were identified. All received access to treatment.

The project "You Should Know About Tuberculosis" is implemented by the NGO "Social Initiatives for Occupational Safety and Health" (LHSI) with funds from a grant from The Global Fund through the Alliance for Public Health.