The Federal prisons administration manages 6 prisons nationwide. The combination of overcrowding, poor ventilation and lack of adequate TB screening led prisons into a breeding ground and incubator for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The transmission of the bacteria does not end with the prisoners but also to the staff of the prison with frequent and unprotected contacts.
Underpinning this reality, one of the World TB Day commemoration activities by REACH Ethiopia through USAID Urban TB LON Project was performing mass screening and awareness creation to the prison community. The mass screening campaign was launched on Monday, 14th March 2022 at Kaliti prison prisons administration and continued the mass screening campaign for ten consecutive days. Ministry of health, Addis Ababa City Administration Health Bureau and St. Peter’s specialized hospital had accompanied REACH Ethiopia in this activity.
By the ten consecutive day’s mass screening campaign, a total of 3002 prisoners and the staff members were reached through symptomatic TB screening. 342 prisoners were found to be presumptive TB cases and samples were collected and evaluated. Among these, 8 confirmed TB cases were detected.