Technical Reports | February 2022

The Catalyzing Pediatric TB Project in Kenya: End of Project Report

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Overview

Catalyzing Pediatric Tuberculosis Innovation (CaP TB) is a UNITAID funded project that ran from 2017 to 2021. Managed and implemented by the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), the project covered 10 countries, including Kenya. TB remains a major public health concern in this nation – being the leading cause of death of both children and adults.1 Even so, there is evidence to suggest that a significant number of children go undiagnosed and untreated. Accordingly, CaP TB sought to address existing baseline gaps with informed interventions.

Moreover, the project served to center the pediatric TB agenda at the 10 facilities in Turkana County and the 24 in Homa Bay. This, too, served to address various gaps, including:

(1) limited integration of TB screening into other services, leading to missed opportunities for identification
(2) limited capacity for pediatric TB diagnostic services (e.g., the use of GeneXpert, clinical-radiological evaluation)
(3) low pediatric TB case finding
(4) insufficient number of GeneXpert and uncoordinated sample networking – especially for diagnostics
(5) low awareness of TB communities
(6) delayed TB contact tracing activities and TB preventative treatment (TPT) enrolment.

Fundamentally, the project aimed to increase pediatric case detection, initiation on TB treatment, and TPT through integrated and decentralized models of care, while introducing improved diagnostics and treatment for latent and active TB and employing household contact tracing.

Country:

Kenya

Topics:

Tuberculosis