About

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a growing public health problem globally, including in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe National TB Program (NTP) aims to end TB as a public health problem by 2035. One of the key strategies and successes of the NTP is the rollout and decentralisation of the rapid TB molecular diagnostic test (Xpert MTB/RIF) to all district hospitals and some primary healthcare facilities.

It was anticipated that by bringing the rapid diagnostic tests for TB closer to the patient and aligning TB diagnostic and treatment protocols to international guidance, patient treatment outcomes would improve. However, despite these improvements to the TB program, the treatment success for persons with MDR-TB has declined over the past decade.

This PhD thesis aims to explore the gaps in the TB and MDR-TB continuum of care in Zimbabwe with a particular focus on the implementation and decentralisation of the MDR-TB rapid diagnostics and care.

About

Kudakwashe Chani is a public health physician with over 16 years experience designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating complex public health programs in southern Africa and the Pacific. His research interests are TB, MDR-TB, HIV and health systems. Dr Chani previously lived in Zimbabwe, Namibia, Papua New Guinea and Australia, where he worked for several organisations including ministries/departments of health, Intrahealth International, Society for Family Health, Catholic Health Services, Burnet Institute and Abt Associates. He is currently enrolled for PhD in the Global Health Department, RSPH.