The Ministry of Health of Rwanda is making great strides in their fight against Tuberculosis. In their efforts to further reduce the burden of TB, the Rwanda Biomedical Center (BRC), with support from KIT Institute, has implemented a MATCH analysis to identify areas where TB case finding within Key and Vulnerable Populations (KVP) will need to be strengthened. In January, KIT Institute- Epidemiologists John Ifejube and Ente Rood travelled to Kigali, Rwanda to present the results and to discuss interventions targeting KVPs in Rwanda. Read more on this in their dispatch.

The MATCH analytical framework, which was developed by KIT in 2018, was used to map and evaluate where the gaps in TB case detection might exist across the 416 administrative sectors of Rwanda. Geographic variations in the presence of key populations at risk were compared to geographic patterns in TB programme coverage and TB case-finding results across sectors. The first results show that considerable variation in TB case-finding exist across sectors in Rwanda. Some of the areas with relatively low case finding success coincide with areas where KVPs are expected to concentrate, which should be prioritised to strengthen screening and diagnosis of people at risk. These results were presented and discussed with experts of the RBC and various stakeholders.

To ensure that the methods and tools which are used to perform these analyses are well understood and can be replicated by stakeholders in Rwanda, John and Ente facilitated 3-day training to allow data analysis and MEL experts from RBC and the MoPH to map and analyse routinely collected TB data.

During the last day of the visit, representatives from multilateral and national public health and patient organisations gathered to review the results and to discuss which interventions should be considered in order to improve TB case detection within key and vulnerable populations. The results of this workshop will be used as the basis for the final recommendations to the TB programme to drive their strategic agenda for the upcoming years.

We look forward to continuing our work with our colleagues in Rwanda over the coming months and the future, working together to further improve TB control efforts in Rwanda.