VUKA TB PROJECT
Tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant public health challenge, particularly among underserved populations who face barriers to accessing timely diagnosis, treatment and prevention services. In Busia County, Kenya, cross-border movement, informal livelihoods, occupational exposure and stigma can make it difficult for conventional facility-based approaches to reach people at increased risk of TB. Building on its previous community TB intervention in Busia and Vihiga counties, Y+ Kenya, in collaboration with Amref Health Africa, is advancing Vuka TB a community-centred approach designed to bring TB services closer to young people in the places where they live, work and socialise. Vuka, meaning to cross over, reflects the programme’s ambition to bridge the gap between underserved communities and essential TB services. Through peer-led outreach, targeted screening, digital engagement and strengthened community-to-facility referral pathways, Vuka TB seeks to identify missed TB cases, improve treatment linkage and establish trusted community systems that can support future TB prevention and vaccine readiness efforts.
Beneficiaries
Project design
Vuka TB uses a differentiated, peer-led approach that adapts TB services to the realities of young people’s daily lives. Rather than relying exclusively on facility-based services, the programme takes screening, education and referral into workplaces, transport stages, landing sites, educational institutions and other community spaces.
The programme is structured around six complementary interventions:
1. Mine-to-Clinic
Targeted TB education and screening at mining sites, scheduled around shift changes to minimise disruption to young miners’ livelihoods and improve access to services.
2. Boda Boda Stop
Community outreach at major motorcycle taxi stages, engaging riders where they gather for work and creating convenient opportunities for TB education, screening and referral.
3. Beach to Chest
TB outreach at selected Lake Victoria landing sites in collaboration with Beach Management Units and local community structures, with activities adapted to fishing schedules.
4. Den Alert
Innovative outreach in informal social spaces, including gambling dens, to reach young people who may be missed by conventional health programmes.
5. TibuBot
A proposed USSD-based engagement platform designed to make TB information and service navigation accessible to people with basic mobile phones, without requiring internet access or a smartphone.
6. Vuka Fest
Community outreach events in Busia and Malaba that combine TB awareness, screening and referral with youth-friendly engagement spaces designed to encourage participation and reduce stigma.
These activities are supported by a network of 10 trained Adolescent and Young People (AYP) Peer Navigators who will facilitate community engagement, promote screening, support referrals and strengthen follow-up. The programme will also integrate reporting with Kenya’s national TIBU TB information system to support monitoring, accountability and alignment with county health services.
The proposed scale-up will extend implementation across seven sub-counties, using population-specific outreach strategies and monitoring data to guide implementation and measure progress.
Impact
Projected Vuka TB results
Through its proposed seven-sub-county scale-up, Vuka TB aims to:
- Reach 5,000 adolescents and young people with TB education, with a focus on reaching young men.
- Screen 3,850 young people from priority populations and underserved communities.
- Identify and diagnose an estimated 50–70 previously missed TB cases.
- Link 100% of diagnosed young people to TB treatment.
- Train 10 AYP Peer Navigators to strengthen community-based TB engagement and referral systems.
Beyond these targets, Vuka TB seeks to strengthen trust between communities and health services, improve early TB detection, reduce barriers to treatment continuity and establish community engagement systems that can support future TB vaccine demand creation and readiness.
By combining locally grounded outreach, peer navigation, digital access and health-system collaboration, Vuka TB aims to demonstrate how community-centred approaches can help close gaps in TB prevention, diagnosis and care.
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