A trial to mobilize NGO health volunteers to improve tuberculosis patient care in Sana'a City, Yemen.

OBJECTIVES The study aims to show the feasibility of involvement of Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) health volunteers with regular monitoring mechanism on tuberculosis (TB) control in Sana'a City, Yemen. METHODS Interventions to mobilize NGO health volunteers with regular monitoring field visits in two selected districts with approximately 400,000 population in Sana'a City were conducted. 52 NGO health volunteers who belonged to a domestic NGO were trained on TB case finding and case holding activities by the national TB control programme staff during the fourth quarter of 2004. RESULTS 136 new smear-positive TB cases were enrolled from January 2005 to September 2006. The cure rates indicated significant improvement from 73.4% to 84.6% after start of the intervention (p = 0.023). The cure rate of patients whose treatment partners were health volunteers was significantly higher than patients whose treatment partners were health centre staff (93.3% vs. 79.8%, Exact p = 0.045). CONCLUSION The present study showed the favourable results of the implementation of the intervention in two selected districts in Sana'a City with regards to the treatment outcomes. The National Tuberculosis Control Programme has decided to expand the NGO's health volunteers' involvement as treatment partners to at least urban settings in Yemen.