Background;
Uganda grapples with Tuberculosis (TB) and yet this has not remained a significant public health challenge among the elderly but among the children as well. A recent review at Nabweru Health Centre III in Nansana Municipality revealed a concerning trend: paediatric TB cases accounted for 28.6% of all cases reported between October and December 2024. This high burden established Nabweru HCIII as one of the leading facilities for childhood TB diagnoses within Wakiso District. This therefore, indicates that the most affected population is primarily of school-going age, it highlights schools as potential critical hotspots for both the transmission and acquisition of TB infections.
Methodology
The identification of a vulnerable category of Ugandans, specifically the children led to the innovation of, a proactive school-based intervention initiated by Family Strength for a Better Child (FASBEC) and Nabweru Health Centre III staff and CLFs in the community. At the beginning of each academic term, Nabweru HCIII sought and received official authorization from the Nansana Division Education Administration. This collaboration enabled a team of health professionals to conduct coordinated school health activities. The intervention comprised two key components:
Intervention
In period the 7 months Since February – August 2025, a team of health workers, community linkage facilitators and staff conducted 1) TB Sensitization in 13 schools to raise awareness about TB transmission, prevention, and symptoms during academic days. The schools targeted for sensitisation included 10 Nursery and primary schools and 3 secondary schools. The team used interpersonal communication and dialogue to disseminate TB messages in various series of sessions. They demonstrated with help of the learning aids such as chalk boards, flip charts and desktop aids printed with TB messages to deliver information to pupils and students. We also organised pre and post learning assessment to check understanding of the learners on TB sign and symptoms. 2) Active Screening: A Symptomatic screening approach using the Intensified Case finding guide was used were pupils, students, teachers, and school staff were screened for signs and symptoms of TB, Samples were collected from the presumed clients and sent to the laboratory at Nabweru HCIII for confirmation and other investigation.
- Results; A total of 1848 learners were reached with prevention messages and were all screened for TB. Subsequently, 470 (25.4%) learners of the screened were presumed for TB and sputum samples collected which were analysed using a Genexpert and 25(5.3%) learners of the presumed learners were confirmed positive for TB and were then linked to care and treatment. The findings indicated that a substantial number of new TB infections within the community are currently going undetected. This approach demonstrates that proactive, school-based interventions are a highly effective strategy for early case detection and breaking the chain of transmission
4. Conclusion and Recommendation. To mitigate such surges and create safer learning environments, it is recommended that school-based TB sensitization and screening be integrated into routine school health programs. Furthermore, implementing mandatory TB screening as part of the school enrolment process for all learners could serve as a critical preventative measure to protect the health of students, teachers, and the wider community
