Support 150 Tuberculosis Patients in Moldova

“I would say that without our involvement, he could not finish the treatment,” Liudmila states assuredly, “he needs constant supervision and control.” Liudmila is speaking of her neighbor, Valentin, for whom she has been a moderator (treatment supporter) for 7 months of his lengthy treatment for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).

Liudmila and Valentin live in Gidirim village in the Ribnita district of Transnistria, a breakaway region on the left bank of the Dneistr River in Moldova. Thanks to the generosity of Global Giving donors, Speranta Terrei restarted community treatment support for TB patients in Transnistria and sustained this critical service in our hometown, Balti. Valentin exemplifies why TB patients may be unable to follow drug regimens without a moderator. He suffers from epilepsy, alcoholism, and psychiatric conditions and lives alone in his deceased parents’ house. In the bitter cold of last February, the entire interior of the house and the roof burned due to an electrical fire (photo of Valentin in charred house).

Valentin had been treated previously for TB, the first time when his brother died of TB after a stint in prison. That was 10 years ago. In 2015, Valentin was diagnosed again with TB, this time a more serious case of infiltrative, pulmonary MDR-TB. Because he interrupted treatment, the TB dispensary requested Speranta Terrei to give him Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) at home. Liudmila and other neighbors had been watching over Valentin, giving him food and clothes, and Liudmila agreed to be his moderator. Her visits with TB drugs (photo of them in the rundown garden of the house) enabled Valentin to complete treatment in December. He is grateful, saying “To receive treatment at home is very convenient, I do not have to go so far every day.” 

Unfortunately, Valentin broke the law recently and he is in detention awaiting a decision on his fate. This is the reality of vulnerable patients Speranta Terrei assists with community DOT and this is why there is a constant need for moderators to help patients regain health and to stem TB transmission.

Our most experienced moderator, Galina, has done much to counter this reality, as Speranta Terrei’s previous Global Giving project reports show. We at Speranta Terrei are overjoyed that Galina was awarded the prestigious Kochon Prize for her contribution to end tuberculosis! (Photo of Kochon Foundation Chairman Kim giving prize to Galina.) Galina exemplifies the 2016 Kochon Prize theme, “Unsung Heroes Working to End TB”, as she makes daily rounds to persuade homeless, addicted, unwilling, and even combative patients to complete treatment. Please see official announcement at http://www.stoptb.org/global/awards/kochon/awardees/2016.asp. 

We thank you for helping us to improve the reality of vulnerable TB patients and we send you many good wishes for a healthy New Year.