BY MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA
The information gap that has been existing in the fight against TB is set to be bridged as the rollout of the OneImpact Zimbabwe Community-led Monitoring mobile application, has provided much relief, TB survivors have revealed.
Stop TB Partnership is funding the project, while the Ministry of Health and Child Care is providing technical support and the Jointed Hands Welfare Organisation is implementating it.
Users have lauded the application as one of the game changing tools as the country moves towards ending TB by 2030.
The application is currently available on Play Store and App Store but plans are underway to have it on feature phones or none-smartphones.
Moreni Masanzu, National Coordinator for TB Survivors said she was happy with the rollout of the application because it really works for them as it has really reduced the burden for TB survivors because they now get all the information that they want on this platform.
“Like for example, I stay in the rural areas so sometimes you may want to get hold of someone let’s say a doctor to understand something on TB. Since I’m not a health professional, I may want to share certain information with members from my community, so I will make use of this platform to get the required information.
“This platform gives you the opportunity to interact with others so that you get the information that you want and you easily disseminate or share with whoever is within the community who wants it.
“And also it is good because we used to have physical support groups whereby we used to meet and discuss, giving each other psycho-social support, so these days it has really been a challenge to have these physical support groups.
“People will need something that motivates them, so it takes a lot for people to come and discuss TB issues but on OneImpact, if you introduce anyone, they will end up joining any support groups that are on the platform,” said Masanzu.
She added that this is one tool which will strongly help in the goal of ending TB by 2030 if users make proper use of it.
“Also on Community-led Monitoring, it is good because you can do this monitoring on this platform, hearing issues from communities within Zimbabwe, like what are the challenges, what are the successes, so it’s good in that you get it even in the comfort of your house or office.
“So this initiative to us as TB survivors it’s a great achievement and also it helps us because sometimes you can go somewhere and you need to visit a facility but you don’t know where you can get it, but with OneImpact, you can get a facility that is near you.
“You know with sex workers and artisanal miners, they are nomads, they travel from one place to another, so if you introduce this application to them, it gives them an opportunity to get easy access to medication and information that they may require.
“Anyone with a smartphone can use it, so it’s a good initiative, however the challenge I see with OneImpact for now is that it needs someone with a smart phone, not everyone has one especially in the hard to reach areas like farms or other rural areas, so we may need to resource mobilise so that our TB Champions have smartphones and also to provide data for them so that they will be able to access this platform,” added Masanzu.
Similar sentiments were also echoed by Stanley Sibanda, a TB Advocate, who said the platform is the game changer in TB response.
“We now have all the current Tuberculosis guidelines and information on our fingertips.
“Some time ago we experienced Tuberculosis drug stock outs in some of the clinics and the OneImpact platform played a big role as we used it to report where there are stock outs so that the responsible authorities can make a follow up.
“Also the platform has a WhatsApp where we communicate with other TB Survivors and Champions from other areas and sharing experiences.
“The platform can even direct you to a nearby health facility which offer TB services through its map.
“Besides Tuberculosis, the OneImpact platform offers information on other diseases like cancer and others.
“The platform will definitely help us as community volunteers as we only use our smartphones to better Tuberculosis services and to get vital information which is needed,” said Sibanda.
He added: “we managed to use the platform to report where there were drug shortages and it helped the authorities to know where there is need.
“Also we are now able to share experiences and ideas through the WhatsApp platform which is available on OneImpact.”
