A Corps Member serving in Katsina state, Hafsat Abdulhamid Abdulsalam with State Code KT/24A/025 has carried out sensitization on Tuberculosis in two communities of Kayauki and Kurfi in the State.
Her efforts are part of her personal Community Development Service ( CDS).
Abdulsalam currently serves with Hassan Usman Katsina Polytechnic.
The Corps Member said she was once a victim of Tuberculosis but survived the ailment.
She said since then, she developed the passion to sensitise and create awareness about the disease among communities.
She said she made her intention known to her Local Government Inspector who introduced her to the Katsina State Project Coordinator for Tuberculosis and Leprosy, Dr Muktar Aliyu in the State Ministry of Health.
The Corps member further explained that the Project Coordinator gave her the direction to the areas where the disease is prevalent in the State to carry out the sensitization.
Hafsat said with the assistance from the Project Coordinator who provided her with the required face mask, sputum containers and a supervisor who took her round and ensure the success of the programme, she got the zeal to embark on the sensitization on the 9th and 30th of September, 2024 to those communities because he would not want people in those communities to be inffected ignorantly and suffer what she suffered which she survived by the grace of God.
The Corps Member, together with her team first went to the Kayauki Community in Batagarawa Local Government Area and also stormed the Kurfi community in Kurfi Local Government Area of Katsina State
According to her, she embarked on the awareness creation to enable the community members take a proactive action against the disease .
She made use of public address system after consulting with the community leaders in the various areas.
She then gathered the Children, their parents and the entire Community members to the school premises and taught them how to identify the symptoms and signs of Tuberculosis in children and adults.
She said that during the sensitization, the sputum and stool samples of 38 people who showed signs and symptoms in them mainly children and young adults were collected and taken for diagnosis and they all tested positive to TB and non were drug resistance.
She said the affected group started treatment immediately with the assistance of the local health facility in the community and contact tracing of those who have had close contact with the positive cases was on going in Kayauki community.
In Kurfi Community Comprehensive Health Care Facility, the Corps Member disclosed that out of over 500 women that attended the sensitization, 43 samples including malnourished children taken for diagnosis, nine cases were positive and were promptly enrolled for treatment.
The Corps Member said in all, 81 presumptive cases were identified with 13 confirmed TB cases across both outreach programmes in Katsina state.
The Corps Member used the opportunity to call on the State Government Ministry of health to step into those communities in Batagarawa and Kurfi to arrest the situation before it gets out of hands.
She said early diagnosis will help to curb the spread of the disease.
The NYSC Katsina State Coordinator, Alhaji Ibrahim Saidu while commending the Corps Member, also called on the concern authority in the State to carry out more findings on the Corps Member’s observations and claims with a view to quickly arresting the situation before it escalates.
The Coordinator was represented by the Batagarawa Local Government Inspector, Alhaji Isah Tanko.
Present at the sensitization were the representative of the NYSC Katsina State Coordinator Alhaji Ibrahim Saidu, The Katsina State Project Coordinator for Tuberculosis and Leprosy, Dr Muktar Aliyu, The Batagarawa TB and Leprosy Supervisor Dr Basiru Bello, the Executive Secretary, Katsina State Primary Health Care Dr Shamsudeen, Corps Members, Members of the Community and host of others.