Lulu is a former TB patient whose illness was detected by the APOPO HeroRATs and has since fully recovered. She now supports APOPO and local hospitals by raising awareness of TB and tracking down other TB-positive patients identified by the rats. As a volunteer for APOPO's partner MKUTA, Lulu provides lifesaving information about the disease to local communities in Dar Es Salaam and makes sure people get to the clinics, so they get diagnosed and get treatment before it's too late.
Tuberculosis is the 3rd major cause of disease and death in Tanzania after malaria and HIV/AIDS. About half of all patients with active TB are undiagnosed due to the lack of a fast and efficient TB diagnostic and limited resources in local clinics. There also exists significant misunderstanding about TB and the disease is surrounded by stigma. Often people with TB symptoms fear discrimination and delay seeking help. Left untreated, a person with active TB can infect up to 10 new people per year.
Lulu visits local communities and clinics to talk openly about TB issues and how to prevent and treat it. She gives detailed information about the symptoms, stresses the importance of early diagnosis and treatment and expels negative myths about the disease. As a TB survivor she is a living testament to best TB practices and this earns a lot of credibility amongst the people she's talking to.
MKUTA volunteers like Lulu are sensitising communities about TB, explaining the advantages of early diagnoses, as well as reducing stigma. This results in significant overall increases in TB detection as well as raised awareness and stigma reduction throughout communities. This has a multiplying effect in that early detection not only increases the chances of being cured, but also stops transmission of TB to other people, thus reducing exposure to hardship and breaking the TB cycle.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
