Quarterly Monitoring Report: Challenge TB - Malawi, Year 2, October-December 2015

The program's primary objective is to improve TB control and prevention in Malawi, with a focus on high-risk populations. Capacity building is a key component of the program, with a focus on training and capacity development for NTP staff and other stakeholders. In the reporting period, two CTB country team members participated in contact investigation training workshops, and a KNCV Regional Senior Epidemiologist led a workshop to develop the second national DRS protocol for the DRS planned in year 3. This protocol is critical to ensuring that ongoing planning for this activity meets its objective and provides quality data for estimating the trend of prevalence of MDR-TB in Malawi. The program also focuses on planning and development, with a number of key activities underway. Recruitment of ACF staff was initiated in Q1, and it is anticipated that these persons will be recruited in January. The ACF coordinators will join CTB earlier and will contribute to laying the groundwork for this key activity, including protocol and SOP development, and mapping the selected urban intervention sites. In terms of technical and administrative challenges, the program faced a number of issues in the reporting period. There was a delay in recruitment of country-based staff, which was resolved by the end of the year. The approval of the Year 2 workplan was also delayed, resulting in a delay of implementation of activities. The NTP was busy with Global Fund activities from October through December 2015, which affected CTB's coordination with them. However, regular meetings and discussions with NTP counterparts are scheduled to begin in January 2016. The program also faced challenges in terms of infrastructure and logistics. The country office space was set up in Q1, but had some challenges in terms of internet connectivity and environment. A new office has been identified and will be available from 1st February. In terms of activity progress, the program made significant progress in the reporting period. The zonal assessment tools were developed, and the zonal assessment is scheduled for Q2. The PEPFAR assessment of all the CTB 15 priority districts and selected health facilities and private providers is also scheduled for Q2. The program also supported and participated in the joint quarterly HIV supervision, and organized a briefing with the USAID Mission Activity Manager to discuss CTB/KNCV's participation in the joint quarterly supervision meetings. However, some milestones were not met in the reporting period. The CTB/KNCV work plan for Malawi was approved on 16 November 2016, rather than in Q1 as planned. The first bi-annual TB review meeting is scheduled for January 2016, and the first zonal TB review meeting is also scheduled for January 2016. The workshop to update the PPM Guideline and the supervisory tool is planned for Q2, and the support development of Community Health Worker's (CHW) Guidelines and training curriculum is also planned for Q2. Overall, the Challenge TB program in Malawi made significant progress in the reporting period, despite facing a number of technical and administrative challenges. The program continues to work towards its objectives, with a focus on capacity building, planning and development, and improving TB control and prevention in Malawi.