Implementing effective TB prevention and treatment programmes in the COVID-19 era in Zimbabwe. A call for innovative differentiated service delivery models.
Leroy Gore Nhari: National Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
Mathias Dzobo: College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Itai Chitungo: College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Knowledge Denhere: School of Public Health, University of Western Cape, South Africa.
Godfrey Musuka: ICAP at Columbia University, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Tafadzwa Dzinamarira: Department of Public Health Medicine, School of Nursing and Public Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 4001, South Africa.
The arrival of COVID-19 has disrupted health service provision globally. In this note, the authors discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the provision of tuberculosis (TB) services in Zimbabwe. TB is endemic in the country and disruption of services may potentially have serious consequences for patients with existing and undiagnosed TB. In this letter, the authors discuss the need for innovative strategies that ensure TB prevention and treatment services in a manner which reduces COVID-19 risk to patients and healthcare workers.
