From the Field: Imams Encourage TB Treatment in Tajikistan

http://blog.usaid.gov/2012/07/from-the-field-imams-encourage-tb-treatment-in-tajikistan/

As a community health specialist with USAID’s Quality Health Care Project in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, I educate community members, medical workers, patients, and their families about tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis, treatment, and infection control.  My job involves being constantly available and responsive to the needs of patients and their families, and I tend to work unusual hours in order to fit into their schedules.  Still, I was a bit surprised when I received a call from Safarov Khudodod in the middle of the night last month.  Khudodod is an imam, a religious leader at his mosque, and he was so excited about a TB testing referral he made after his sermon that he couldn’t wait until the morning to share it with me.

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