Genesis team to boost TB recovery plan after Covid-19 setbacks

South Africa has made important gains in its tuberculosis (TB) control efforts over the past decade. However, Covid-19 and its lockdowns had an adverse effect on the performance of the national TB control programme ― on both the demand and supply sides.

In response, the Department of Health developed the TB Recovery Plan 2022-2023 to reverse the service delivery losses incurred, and to accelerate efforts towards attaining the targets of the United Nations (UN) High-Level Meeting on TB, the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the World Health Organisation’s End TB Strategy.

Genesis Analytics, through funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, aims to build the capacity of the Department of Health to fast-track the effective implementation of the TB Recovery Plan to ensure an effective transition to the new National TB Programme Strategic Plan 2023-2028.

Genesis will embed a technical support unit consisting of TB management experts into the Department of Health’s TB Control Directorate. This will enhance oversight capacity, increase the likelihood of successful implementation of activities and contribute towards the stated goals and objectives.

The key objectives of this technical support unit are to:

Create a shared vision of national TB priorities and raise the profile of TB in South Africa
Create an enabling environment for implementation
Strengthen coordination between national, provincial and district levels to ensure the effective implementation of activities and utilisation of resources
Strengthen monitoring and evaluation of TB plans to build accountability for deliverables.

The contract value of the grant is more than $2.7 million over three years. The initiative will be led by the sustainable health systems team within Genesis’ Health practice.