City Reporter
Manager Provincial Tuberculosis Control Program Punjab, Dr. Muhammad Saeed Akhtar has stated that government is determined to eliminate TB.
While elaborating on the intervention being launched, he said that the eTB mobile application would harness thousands of cases buying anti-TB medicines from pharmacies to enhance TB case detection.
He was addressing a Stakeholders’ Orientation Meeting to launch the detection of TB cases in the Rawalpindi district through private pharmacies where off-the-counter sale of TB drugs is in process with the help of Pakistan’s first mobile application (eTB).
The intervention followed orders from the provincial government for Mandatory Notification of TB Drug Sale and imposing a Ban on over-the-counter sale of TB drugs.
Meanwhile, the Provincial TB Control Program, Punjab in collaboration with DOPASI Foundation through the support of Stop TB Partnership’s TB REACH Initiative have developed a mobile application “eTB” to support the private pharmacies in notifying the sale of Anti TB Drugs to the TB Control Authorities.
Through this mobile application private pharmacies can easily report the sale of TB Drugs by providing the patient and medicinal details along with a picture of the prescription.
This mobile application and intervention was launched today in District Rawalpindi under the Chairmanship of the CEO Health Dr. Faiza Naeem and the Provincial Manager Provincial TB Control Program, Punjab.
In her presidential remarks, the Chief Executive Officer for Health Rawalpindi District Dr. Faiza Naeem stated that with the use of new technologies and sustained cooperation from all partners her district would become TB-Free by the stipulated timeframe of 2030.
Earlier giving details of the program, Dr. Ghulam Nabi Kazi, Senior Advisor of the Dopasi Foundation explained how the project and data flow will work and appreciated the exemplary leadership provided by Manager Provincial TB Control Program and his team.
Dr. Syed Karam Shah, Senior Adviser of Stop TB Pakistan spoke on the critical role of the government health officers including district health authorities in enforcement of all the government statutes and executive orders regarding mandatory TB case notification through the eTB Mobile Application.
During the discussion session several dimensions of the intervention were discussed to develop a shared vision of the project and all queries were addressed by the facilitators.
The use of this simple app is expected to go a long way in identifying and notifying TB patients attending the private sector and this project is expected to generate sufficient evidence to extend this strategy across the country in due course for ensuring better TB control outcomes.
