On 2nd July 2025, the Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDs (KELIN) hosted an in-country inception meeting to introduce the Community Driven Approaches for Transformative Change to Combat Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (COMBAT DR-TB) Project in Kenya. The meeting primarily targeted representatives from the National TB Program, with the Network of TB Champions and other implementing partners like Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) and Centre for Heath Solutions (CHS) represented.
The COMBAT DR-TB project which is a Global South-led initiative aims to reduce DR-TB morbidity and mortality by leveraging community driven demand on recent biomedical advances that include World Health Organization’s (WHO) new recommended short term, all oral DR-TB treatments. The project targets low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with high DR-TB burden including Kenya, Moldova, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
The meeting emphasized on the urgent need for strategic collaboration between KELIN, the National TB Program and grassroots community networks to ensure a successful rollout of the project in Kenya. “This project comes at a pivotal moment in the global fight against DR-TB, a time where there are funding cuts,” said Allan Maleche, Executive Director KELIN. “Addressing DR-TB is not just a biomedical challenge. It’s a community one. In COMBAT DR-TB, we view communities not as passive recipients of services, but as essential actors in designing and delivering effective, sustainable DR-TB care. Our approach elevates their role in demand generation, stigma reduction, and policy accountability.”
Dr. Kathure, the National TB Program Manager, highlighted the importance of addressing both latent TB and DR-TB stressing that early intervention of TB is a preventive strategy to DR-TB. She also urged partners to focus efforts on accelerating DR-TB case finding, enhancing contact tracing and improving overall program efficiency through synergies with existing community driven initiatives. She also emphasized on the need to promote the uptake of the Social Insurance among DR-TB patients as a financing mechanism for treatment and support services.
The program also spotlighted ten high burden counties, which together contribute to over 58% of Kenya’s DR-TB cases. These include Nairobi, Meru, West Pokot, Murang’a, Embu, Baringo, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kiambu and Laikipia. These counties would be prioritized for community-based interventions aimed at improving diagnosis, treatment adherence and patient outcomes.
Participants also discussed the critical role of community generated data and its integration into national and global TB reporting systems, beyond only facility level data from Community Health Providers (CHP) and Health Care Providers (HCP).
KELIN committed to facilitating efficient use of donor funds, preventing duplication of work and ensuring alignment with other implementing organizations across counties. This meeting sets the stage for a community powered and rights-based response to DR-TB in Kenya.
For more information, please contact:
Duke Otieno
Advocacy Officer-HIV/TB
Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV & AIDS (KELIN)
Kuwinda Lane, Karen C, off Langáta Road
