In a bid to improve the quality of TB data collected and foster a culture of routine data analysis for decision making at local level, the Union Zimbabwe Trust (UZT) in collaboration with the National TB Program recently supported the Making Sense of TB Data course for Kwekwe District. The course was conducted under the Kunda-Nqob’ iTB project (KN-TB) supported by USAID in Zimbabwe.

The training targeted nurses and environmental health technicians (EHTs) who are involved in the recording and reporting of TB data at their facility and district. The training attended by 27 officers focused on TB and TB/HIV data collection, analysis and use at local level. The specific objectives of this training were to develop skills for collection of good quality data and evidenced based decision making and planning.

Lead facilitator during the training, UZT Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Nqobile Mlilo says quality data is crucial in designing action points.

“Trained staff collect data, validate, tabulate, analyse & use local data to identify values that lie outside expected range, identify root causes and agree on action points,” he told the participants.

In groups, the participants had an opportunity to apply lessons learnt through field visits to health facilities in Umzingwane District – to review and assess TB data. The health workers are now expected to identify performance strengths and weaknesses as well as develop action points in line with recommendations.

At the end of the training one of the participants declared, “We are now going to own the TB program at our health facility!”

Capacity building of health workers to properly record & report quality data is supported by USAID in Zimbabwe, under the Kunda-Nqob’ iTB project. USAID, through the Tuberculosis Local Organization Network (TB-LON) funding mechanism is supporting a national TB-HIV response in Zimbabwe in 8 districts across three provinces – Masvingo, Matebeleland South and Midlands selected on account of high disease burden, poor TB treatment outcomes and a concentration of artisanal small-scale miners (ASMs), an important and often neglected risk group for silicosis and TB.