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Organization Contact Information | |
| Name: | Centre for Health Solutions - Kenya (CHS) |
| Street 1: | CVS Plaza, Kasuku Road, Off Lenana Road |
| Street 2: | |
| City: | Nairobi |
| Province: | Nairobi |
| Post Code: | +254 |
| Country: | Kenya |
| Phone: | +254 (0) 20 271 0077 |
| Organization Email: | info@chskenya.org |
| Web Site: | http://www.chskenya.org |
| Other Online Presence: | |
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General Information | |
| Board Constituency: | Developing Country NGO |
| Is your organization legally registered in your country: | Yes |
| If yes, please enter your registration number: | |
| Organization Type - Primary: | Non-Governmental Organization |
| Organization Type - Secondary: | Other Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) |
| Organization Description: | |
| Centre for Health Solutions - Kenya (CHS) is a local, not-for-profit organisation. We understand the local context, make use of local expertise and strategic partnerships to ensure we implement evidence-informed solutions and interventions to address existing and emerging public health concerns Our Mission is to optimize delivery and use of health interventions to communities through evidence-informed solutions, innovations and research to address existing and emerging public health needs. Our interest in tuberculosis is pegged on our current activities, with the objective of fulfilling our mantra of being the preferred partner for health solutions. CHS through funding from USAID and CDC implements TB-related activities across Kenya. Through the USAID-funded TB ARC Activity, CHS supports Kenya's National Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Lung Disease Program (NTLD-Program) to expand access to quality-assured services for all forms of TB, by identifying and implementing evidence-based interventions in all 47 counties in Kenya. Through the CDC-funded program, TEGEMEZA, CHS supports five counties in Central Kenya in the management of TB, with particular focus on TB and HIV co-infection. |
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| Do you know about the UNHLM declaration: | |
Specializations / Areas of Work | |
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Advocacy Civil Society and Community Engagement Delivery of health services and care Provision of drugs, diagnostics and commodities Technical Assistance Working on Key Populations related to TB |
Other Organization Information | |
| Total number of staff in your organization: | 51 - 99 |
| Number of full-time staff who are directly involved with TB: | 11 - 25 |
| Number of part-time staff who are directly involved with TB: | 1 - 5 |
| Number of volunteers who are directly involved with TB: | 0 |
| How did you hear about the Stop TB Partnership: | Stop TB communications |
| If you were informed or referred by another partner of the Stop TB Partnership please tell us who: | |
| Why do you wish join the Stop TB Partnership: | Involvement in Stop TB Working Groups |
| Are you a member of a Stop TB national partnership: | No |
| Are you in contact with your national TB programme: | Yes |
| Please tell us how your organization is contributing to your country's national TB control plan: | |
| CHS works with the Ministry of Health through the National Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Lung Disease Program (NTLD-Program) to expand access to quality-assured services for all forms of TB in Kenya. The aim is to increase the proportion of TB cases identified and treated to over 95% and increase treatment success rate to over 85% in all 47 counties of Kenya by 2018, when the 5-year USAID-funded TB ARC Activity ends. This is achieved through supporting the leadership and leveraging role of NTLD; supporting the development, implementation and scale-up of new program areas and/or interventions; providing technical assistance for the local adaptation and scale-up of globally proven interventions; and supporting the monitoring and evaluation function of the national TB Program. Through TB ARC, CHS has played a vital role in the roll-out of GeneXpert machines across Kenya to promote TB case finding. CHS supported and was actively involved in planning and conducting the National TB Prevalence Survey between 2015 and 2016. It also supported the launch of the paediatric TB medication. CHS supports the National STOP TB Partnership through strengthening of human resource and infrastructure; systems strengthening (including technical support and training) for IT systems, policies, procurement and finance systems; providing support for activities, meetings and other forums; and promoting links to bodies and associations of interest. CHS also supported the entire process during the development of the strategic plan including meeting financing and facilitation, bringing together policy makers, printing and launch of the strategic plan. |
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Geographical Reach | |
| Which country is your headquarters located in: | Kenya |
| Which countries do you do operate in: (This includes countries you are conducting activities in) |
Kenya |
Contribution | |
| Please tell us how your organization will contribute to the Global Plan to Stop TB by briefly describing its involvement in any of the areas of work listed below: | |
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TB Care Delivery: In 2013, Centre for Health Solutions-Kenya (CHS) was awarded a grant from USAID to support the Kenyan National TB, Leprosy and Lung Disease Program (NTLD-Program) in its activities towards reducing the burden of TB in Kenya. This activity, dubbed TB Accelerated Response and Care (TB ARC), runs from July 2013 to June 2018 to support the NTLD-Program in the following areas: 1. To ensure the NTLD Program is supported to provide reliable leadership and coordination of TB services in Kenya 2. Ensure development, implementation and scale-up of new TB program areas (interventions) 3. Ensure local adoption and scale-up of globally proven TB interventions 4. Ensure technology driven programming and monitoring of TB services in Kenya CHS, through the TB ARC activity facilitates support supervision conducted by both County and sub county TB Coordinators in all of Kenya’s 47 counties. This support is offered through reimbursements for transport to all visited facilities as well as provision of airtime for telephones and tablets. The purpose for this support is to ensure that all TB treatment facilities in the country are visited every month to ensure quality of TB services offered by health care workers (HCWs), and to ensure these coordinators provide on job training and supervision. This support has led to gradual increase in Treatment Success Rate (TSR) in Kenya over the years. The national TSR is currently 87%. TB ARC has additionally supported various NTLD-Program activities towards improving the delivery of TB care including: supporting workshops towards developing updated integrated national TB guidelines; and providing technical officers seconded to the NTLD-Program, to provide technical supported in Paediatrics, Lab, and Monitoring and Evaluation. TB ARC regularly documents and disseminates TB success stories and has committed itself towards moulding TB ambassadors who are currently TB champions that undertake advocacy activities. This pool of champions includes previous patients. CHS supported TB nurse Naomi Wanjiru, the 2015 Kochon award winner who has been on the front line, championing the fight against TB in Kenya. Naomi contributed part of her 2015 Kochon Award money to support six-year-old Ndulu Muthui who was afflicted with TB of the spine. Through the support of Centre for Health Solutions- Kenya (CHS), she, alongside other CHS staff handed over support items to the child’s family including a corset to support Ndulu’s spine, books, and a bicycle to facilitate her movement to and from school as she lives more than three kilometers away from the school, in rural Kwale. In 2014, TB ARC supported the Stop TB partnership in Kenya to set up office, as well as to build the structures required to undertake its day-to-day activities, including the development of a Strategic Plan since STP-Kenya had been inactive for several years. This included the recruitment process of the current Chief National coordinator, and project officer. The Stop TB Partnership-Kenya is now able to conduct advocacy activities, including seeking political goodwill through the engagement of the political class in Kenya. In mid 2016, the STP organized a parliamentary TB caucus. The Kenyan parliamentary representative is the current chair of African chapter. The purpose of this engagement was to advocate with parliamentarians to allocate more resources towards TB control activities. TB ARC has supported various communication strategies including the use of social medial, digital platforms, development and printing of IEC messages, TV spots and radio spots in increasing the profile of TB in Kenya. TB ARC was responsible for revamping the NTLD-Ps website as well providing resources for the day-to-day management of the sites. To ensure that TB stories continue to be covered and disseminated through the various communication channels, journalists from different media houses were selected to document the TB work done in the various counties. This initiative was supported by TB ARC. Kenya embarked on undertaking its first post independent TB prevalence survey in August 2015. This activity whose main purpose is to establish the true burden of TB in Kenya has currently been concluded, awaiting final results. TB ARC supported the required fleet, provided technical support, supported social mobilization and through the communications team supported development and printing of IEC material. Other activities supported by TB ARC include advocacy towards the inclusion and established partnership of the TB agenda in the Private sector through the Kenya Health Federations platform that brings together the key players and stake holders in the corporate private sector. Drug-Resistant TB: CHS through the TB ARC activity has continued to support various activities to increase DR TB surveillance, case finding and notification, and to improve the quality of care offered to DR TB patients nationally. TB ARC supported and advocates for monthly clinical review meeting for DR TB patients. These meetings involve the convening of a multi-disciplinary group that includes: a physician, the county and sub-county TB coordinator, a nutritionist, lab officer, social worker, pharmacist, public health officer, Directly Observed Treatment (DOT) nurse and a representative from CHS to evaluate the clinical progress of DR TB patients holistically. These review meetings occur every month and have significantly contributed to the improvement of Kenya’s DR TB TSR, which is well above the WHO target of 75%. TB ARC supports these meetings by providing transport reimbursement for patients, and the HCWs involved. CHS is dedicated to improving the coordination from facility to community and has established the Private Public Partnership (PPP) with Lancet Kenya through the TB ARC Activity. TB ARC has contracted Lancet laboratories to conduct baseline and follow up laboratory investigations for all DR TB patients in the country. With the PPP plan, the quality of care has greatly improved and TB patients do not incur any costs while undergoing treatment. In 2016, TB ARC began implementing the MoU between TB ARC and MSF-France. Several clinical review teams have received DR TB trainings to strengthen the support these clinical review teams provide to counties. This is an initiative to build the capacity of Kenya’s HCWs in management of DR TB. TB-HIV: CHS, through TB ARC convenes and coordinates a TB/HIV Implementing Partners’ stake holders’ forum every quarter. This meeting brings together various stakeholders supporting implementation of TB/HIV activities within the counties. The key focus of this meeting is to leverage and maximize what the implementing partners support in the different regions, to be in tandem with the national TB programs agenda of maximizing TB prevention, case detection, prevention and notification. Additionally, the meeting also addressed implementation challenges in any of the various interventions. Through this engagement, different implementing partners continue sharing best practices towards concerted efforts geared towards improving TB/HIV indicators. TB ARC has deployed TB ARC Regional Officers in the 4 High Burden Regions in Kenya (Nairobi, Coast, Siaya and Eastern North), as a means to provide direct technical support to CTLCs and the counties within these regions. This support includes setting up County TB/HIV task forces where TB officers and their HIV counterparts can meet every quarter to deliberate on TB/HIV implementation activities such as the scale up of IPT, Gene Xpert testing in the country, Screening for TB among PLHIV, HIV testing and counseling among the TB patients, and immediate ART for those co-infected. The regional teams have continued to support coordination of partners and stakeholders at county level in order to improve the quality of services as well as TB outcomes, through joining CTLCs on support supervisions, supporting county task force meetings, trainings and sensitizations. Prior to the national launch of IPT in 2015, TB ARC supported the development of the requisite Standard operating Procedures (SOPs), sensitization materials and recording tools in planning for the launch and roll-out of IPT in the country. Laboratory Strengthening: TB ARC continues to provide technical assistance to the NTLD-Program through the seconded Lab Officer. This support includes supporting gGneXpert sample transportation from health facilities as well as courier transportation of samples to the National TB Reference Laboratory. TB ARC additionally supports transportation of samples from peripheral facilities to courier through providing reimbursements to HCW. TB ARC has continued to support lab investigations for DR TB patients through a private firm, Lancet labs in order for DR TB patients to access baseline and follow up lab investigations conducted through Lancet Labs. Bundling of all the gene Xpert machines is supported to ensure all Gene Xpert machines report online. TB ARC continues to support for gene Xpert task forces in the high burden counties. The TB ARC regional teams have continued supporting GeneXpert county task forces whose mandate includes addressing sample transportation challenges within the counties, commodity distribution and equipment support in order to increase the uptake and utilization of the GeneXpert machines. New Diagnostics: Kenya began implementing the use of Gene Xpert testing in 2011. TB ARC has supported the installation of several machines in the country, including ensuring that each machine has wireless connectivity that enabling online real time reporting. TB ARC support gene Xpert task forces throughout the country and these task forces at county level are responsible for ensuring each machine is utilized optimally. Beginning 2016, TB ARC embarked on supporting ‘Super Users’ who would provide technical support within the counties, in ensuring all machines worked optimally, and any technical ‘hitches’ were addressed at county level rather than from national level. This is one way of ensuring all machines are up and running at all times. TB ARC supported the roll-out of a GeneXpert alert system developed in collaboration with ABT Associates, Clinton Health Foundation, and the NTLD-Program. The alert system ensures real-time delivery of GeneXpert test results to Clinicians through a short message service (SMS) via mobile phone reducing the turnaround time in generating results therefore ensuring that those found with TB are put on life-saving treatment as soon as possible. This thereby reduces the likelihood of them spreading this communicable disease. New TB Drugs: CHS and other TB Alliance partners are supporting the Ministry of Health to roll out the child-friendly TB medication. Kenya is the first country in Africa to roll out this improved formulation. The child friendly medicines now come in the appropriate doses and flavour and are recommended to replace previously used medicines for children under the weight of 25 kilograms. This child-friendly TB medicines formulation will ease the burden on HCWs and care givers in simplifying the dosing and administration of TB drugs in children. |
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Declaration | |
| Declaration of interests: N/A | |
| Application date: | August 31, 2016 |
| Last updated: | November 3, 2016 |