DUSHANBE -- The US government is helping Tajikistan fight tuberculosis (TB), the US Agency for International Development (USAID) said in a September statement.
Participants in the USAID-funded anti-TB campaign include Karimjon Roziqov, an imam in Rasht District, who sets aside 15 minutes every Friday after religious services to discuss TB with his congregation.
Roziqov learned in 2016 that USAID was forming community health committees in Rasht District as part of the USAID TB Control Programme. He joined such a committee.
Committee members serve as a liaison between medics and communities and help break down stigmas linked to TB. They urge local governments and businesses to give financial assistance to needy TB patients.
Since 2015, USAID has formed 143 community health committees in Tajikistan. They have more than 800 members. Worshippers at Roziqov's mosque receive crucial TB information. Residents who are reluctant to seek help publicly may phone him. Roziqov's training enabled him to recognise TB symptoms in a migrant worker who had returned home.
USAID is helping the Tajik government battle TB by "providing more effective and accessible TB prevention, diagnosis and treatment for all", according to USAID.
