Help Children with TB in Vietnam

Dear Friends,

Your support continues to bring hope to children affected by tuberculosis (TB) in Vietnam. Over the past several months, our focus has been on laying the groundwork for the next phase of this project, building strong partnerships, strengthening local health systems, and ensuring that every donation directly improves the lives of children and their families.

Project Overview

The project focuses on strengthening the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) and latent TB (LTBI) among children under age 15. Operating in Bac Ninh and Vinh Long provinces, the initiative works within the National Tuberculosis Program to ensure children in both public and private health sectors receive accurate care. Following active screening phases in late 2025, the project has transitioned in 2026 to evaluating systemic effectiveness and identifying barriers to care

Challenge

Pediatric TB diagnosis remains a significant technical and social hurdle. Children often present with vague symptoms that caregivers misidentify as minor illnesses, leading to delayed professional care and initial reliance on private clinics. This delay is compounded by a lack of bacteriological evidence in children and limited diagnostic infrastructure at local facilities, which forces a heavy dependency on provincial-level consultations. Systemically, fragmented coordination between hospital departments and a weak referral chain often lead to management gaps. Furthermore, families face intense emotional fear, financial pressure, and social stigma, frequently accepting a TB diagnosis only as a last resort. 

Solution and Activities

In 2026, the project initiated a qualitative research study. This activity aims to identify why delays in detection occur and how to improve the application of Vietnam’s National Diagnostic Guidelines. Key actions include:

• Conducting focus groups and interviews with medical staff to identify barriers in applying diagnostic algorithms when bacterial evidence is absent.
• Interviewing families to analyze the social and systemic factors that lead to delays in seeking professional TB care.
• Assessing the coordination between different hospital departments and the effectiveness of the current referral system.

Results

The project's 2026 research builds on a successful foundation from late 2025, where 4,857 children were screened via chest X-ray and 10 children were successfully diagnosed and started on treatment. So far in 2026, the team has completed the following data collection milestones:

• 15,691 medical records screened to assess diagnostic outcomes.
• 10,965 records specifically for children under 10 years old identified for in-depth study.
• 42 health workers participated in four focus group discussions across 22 health facilities.
• 21 in-depth interviews conducted with caregivers of children diagnosed with TB to understand their challenges.

Impact

The information gathered in 2026 provides a roadmap for system improvement. By identifying that local facilities are bottlenecked by a lack of diagnostic equipment and that caregivers are deterred by initial diagnostic uncertainty, the project can now target specific interventions. These findings are helping to bridge the gap between clinical guidelines and actual practice, ensuring that healthcare providers are better equipped to support families through the emotional and financial strain of long-term treatment. 

Looking Ahead

The project is currently in the data cleaning and analysis phase. The finalized results from this research are expected in early 2026 and will be used to:

• Refine training programs for local health workers to increase diagnostic confidence.
• Develop more effective counseling protocols for families to reduce the time between symptom onset and treatment.
• Improve the coordination of pediatric TB management across hospital departments to ensure no child is lost in the referral process.

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