USAID TB CARE II Project Quarterly Report October – December 2016

South Africa has the world's third highest TB burden, with nearly half a million incident cases each year. The country also has some of the highest incidence of MDR-TB and extensively-drug resistant TB (XDR-TB) in the world. The HIV epidemic is a major factor behind the high rates of TB in South Africa, with two-thirds of tested TB patients found to be HIV positive. The USAID TB CARE II South Africa Project, implemented by University Research Co., LLC (URC), has been extended until December 31, 2016, and has continued to work on various strategic objectives over fiscal year 2016. The project provides technical assistance to the National Department of Health (NDOH), Provincial Departments of Health (PDOHs), and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to address gaps in achieving the project's strategic objectives. The project's objectives include improving the quality of TB services, increasing the availability of TB treatment, increasing demand for TB treatment, improving management of TB support systems, and new approaches for expanding DOTS coverage. During the period under review, the activities covered under the USAID TB CARE II were completely transitioned to the USAID TB SAP. The final activity for the USAID TB CARE II will be a mass media campaign predicted to occur in the next quarter. The mass media campaign aims to improve TB infection prevention and control through enhanced awareness about prevention, diagnostic, and treatment services among key populations, particularly in urban metros and informal settlements. The campaign will also encourage increased TB testing and screening, leading to earlier detection and management of regular and MDR-TB, especially among people living with HIV (PLHIV) and people with diabetes. The campaign will focus on a mass national market as well as a focused approach for Ekurhuleni and the City of Johannesburg. Ekurhuleni and the City of Johannesburg are part of the Zero TB Cities Initiatives and this focused campaign aims to impact health-seeking behavior among this smaller and defined population. The campaign will involve ads through national and local TV, radio, OOH (including billboards, taxi ads, transit center ads, and billboards), and Mindset Health. The goal of the campaign is to educate both healthcare personnel and the public on TB for infection prevention and control and increase TB testing while decreasing stigma and incorrect social understandings. Through this campaign, the TB CARE II South Africa team hopes to empower the public through education to reach people from different areas and incomes to unite the country under the goal of reducing TB transmission and to utilize the services that the project has successfully improved throughout the country. The TB CARE II South Africa team was represented at the Union National Lung Health Conference in October, 2016 in Liverpool, UK. The team presented information about their work in South Africa for both TB CARE II Core activities and TB CARE II South Africa activities. They were also able to network with TB experts and share ideas and successes. Two posters were presented from the TB CARE II South Africa activities.