Riziki: “I encourage any TB patient to use 99DOTS if they can”
Riziki* was enrolled under the KNCV-led and Stop TB Partnership funded TB REACH project in Tanzania which introduced 99DOTS (medication sleeves) as a Digital Adherence Technology (DAT) in the gold mining Geita region in northwestern Tanzania.
“I am stable now. The cough I had sustained the last 6 months is gone. I have regained my health! The 99DOTS system has helped me a lot completing the treatment this successfully.” These are comments from Riziki William (29 years), who is now back to his normal activities in the mines.
Riziki was diagnosed with pulmonary TB at Kharumwa Health Centre in Nyang’hwale District. He explains, “I was losing weight and sustained a severe cough for a couple of weeks. I was definitely sick. I went to the hospital for a checkup, where a doctor told me I had tuberculosis. I was told to start a six month TB treatment. A DOT nurse informed me about a system with which I had to take pills and make a free phone call. This system would send me messages to remind me to take my drugs when I didn’t call.”
On the same day his TB treatment started, Riziki was registered to 99DOTS. He never missed a single dose. Which gave him 100% adherence from enrolment to treatment completion.
When asked what factors helped him completing his treatment so successfully, Riziki said the following: “The system of me taking my pills and making a phone call was very important the entire treatment. I underline this because I got a motivational message every time I made that call. I remember one day where I almost forgot to take the pills, I was very busy working in the mines. In the evening I received a message reminding me to take my medicine. I would have missed that dose if I did not get that message. The DOT nurse in the hospital showed me my adherence calendar every time I went to pick up my pills. Seeing a completely green calendar made me so happy! So I made sure to maintain it.”
Riziki further explains that the process of using 99DOTS is not time consuming. “Not at all, it is an interesting practice actually. Imagine making a call then receiving a message from the Ministry of Health, congratulating you for taking your medicine! It is nice to see the authorities are concerned about your health. Really, I encourage any TB patient to use 99DOTS if they can. It supports patients through the complete treatment. It made my treatment easier and I wish the same for others.”
Patient adherence calendar for Riziki William from the 99DOTS platform.
These TB REACH projects are the predecessor of the ASCENT project, that is funded by Unitaid.
The Unitaid funded and supported ASCENT project is led by KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation in consortium with The Aurum Institute, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and PATH. It is implemented in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Ukraine, the Philippines and South Africa. The aim of the project is to make digital adherence technologies available to all TB patients worldwide.
* Patient name changed to respect privacy.
**Article originally published by the ASCENT project can be accessed here.