Since 2018, the NGO "Social Initiatives for Occupational Safety and Health" has been implementing the project "You should know about tuberculosis", aimed at actively identifying new cases of TB and X-TB among vulnerable groups, today these are internally displaced persons (IDPs) and former prisoners.
This year, the project covers six regions of Ukraine: Kharkiv, Chernivtsi, Donetsk, Vinnytsia, Lviv regions and Kyiv cityIts task is to ensure unhindered access for people from target groups to screening, diagnosis, and treatment of tuberculosis, as well as to provide motivational support and social guidance.
As part of the initiative, social workers conduct screening surveys, organize consultations, accompany clients to medical facilities, assist with access to additional diagnostic services, and establish cooperation with local communities and medical institutions.
The project continued to operate even after the start of a full-scale war: for example, it was resumed in the Kharkiv region in March 2022, and later expanded to new regions.
Living stories of change
Over the years of implementation, the project has become not only a platform for the fight against tuberculosis, but also a place where people get a chance to rebuild their lives. Yes, this year alone, at the beginning of summer in the Turkivska community in the Lviv region, thanks to screening questionnaires 355 people were examined, of whom 177 were suspected of having TB, and 9 people were diagnosed. All of them started treatment. For a community with less than 30 thousand inhabitants, this is a significant number.
And in Kyiv the story of former prisoner Alexander became an example of how the project helps not only restore health, but also regain lost dignity. Thanks to the support of a social worker, he was able to undergo an examination, receive documents, and start a new life.
Partnership and support
The project "You Should Know About Tuberculosis" is implemented by the NGO "Social Initiatives for Occupational Safety and Health" with the support of Public Health Alliance Foundation within the framework of a grant from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, as well as in cooperation with regional and local social service centers and medical and preventive institutions.
Tuberculosis is curable. The main thing is to identify the problem in time and not be left alone. This is what the project team, which continues its work until the end of 2025, is doing every day.