Traditional healers’ role in TB prevention, control

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According to the Ministry of Health, TB incidences declined from 306 per 100,000 population in 2015 to 222 per 100,000 in 2020

Dar es Salaam. Despite recorded achievements in tuberculosis (TB) prevention and control, involvement of traditional healers will significantly increase the country’s success in the war against the killer disease, according to the new report.
Data posted on the ministry of Health website show that TB incidences declined from 306 per 100,000 population in 2015 to 222 per 100,000 in 2020, which is equivalent to 27 percent decline.
According to the ministry’s statistics, Tanzania, being among the sixth-highest burden countries for TB, achieved the ‘End TB 2020 Incidence milestones’.
“There has been a 52 percent reduction in TB deaths from 55,000 in 2014 to 26,800 in 2020,” reads data published on the ministry’s website.
Furthermore, statistics on the website show that a total of 85,597 cases of all forms of TB were notified in 2020, which is an increase of 4.2 percent or 3,432 cases compared to the year 2019 when 82,166 cases of TB were reported.
Igunga’s district tuberculosis and leprosy coordinator, Dr Justina Mkome, presented the findings of a study carried out in her area during a breakfast debate organised by Policy Forum, where she said the majority of patients start receiving treatment from traditional healers.

According to her, 24 traditional healers admitting clients in their respective villages were identified, and local government authorities were notified to help them have access to respective places.
“In collaboration with the district, traditional medicine coordinators, traditional healers were communicated with, visited, and provided with health education sessions on TB signs and symptoms,” she said.
“TB screening was done to all people admitted to the homes of traditional healers’ homes. Also, sputum was collected from all clients and housemates present. The specimen was then sent for Genexpert testing, negative sputum results were evaluated, and clients were supported for x-ray services,” she added.
She said a total of 500 clients were screened, and samples were taken for testing from 366 presumptive clients.
“At least 40 TB cases were identified, and they were rolled out for TB treatment. Among them, 12—or 29 percent were bacteriologically confirmed cases,” she said.
Furthermore, she said the study provided the lesson that communities still have trust in traditional therapies and superstitions.
Therefore, the engagement of traditional healers in TB control is key to finding missing people with TB in the community, according to her.
She mentioned another lesson from the study: that traditional healers and clients admitted at the said places were facing major risks of being infected and becoming dangerous sources of TB transmission.

“The study therefore recommends the importance of resource relocations for community health services, especially when using local approaches for sustainability,” she said.
Furthermore, she said capacity building and partnerships with traditional healers and other influential individuals will improve the TB case detection.
“The study also recommends the engagement of traditional healers to enhance collaboration with biomedical practitioners and strengthen referral systems,” she said.
“Traditional healers are potential harbours of presumptive TB cases, provision of motivation may pave the way in TB care and control,” she adds.
Speaking on the sidelines of the presentation, the TB and Leprosy supervisor in Tabora region, Dr Benedict Komba, said the presentation has provided clues on how TB services could be reformed in the region.

Dr Komba said reforms could be broadened to other parts of the country with the involvement of the informal sector in the provision of health services.
“During the study carried out in a period of July to September, 2022,” he said, “we discovered that different methods could be used to intensify the war against TB in the country.”
Furthermore, he said citizens’ belief in traditional healers in the provision of health services was high, adding that the government has found it important to collaborate with the said practitioners for the treatment of known diseases because “neglecting their involvement will complicate the war against TB.”
Ms Lissa Melele of the Tumaini University Dar es Salaam College (Tudarco) said Tanzania is among the 30 countries with the highest TB burden, describing the disease as a national disaster.