The ASCENT project in South Africa
South Africa is one of the five countries where the ASCENT project is implemented. Over 50 health care facilities in the Gauteng Province- Tshwane District and Western Cape Province- West Coast District are participating in the project. Patient and health care workers will make use of digital adherence technologies to support patients taking their TB treatment at home. The first patients will be enrolled in October 2020. The project aims to reach 16000 TB patients in South Africa in two years.
South Africa has a population of 58 million people and is one of the 30 high burden TB countries in the world, as listed by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the WHO in 2018 an estimated 301,000 people suffered from TB in South Africa, making the TB incidence rate 520 per 100,000 people. An estimated 11,000 people suffered from multidrug resistant TB. The WHO estimates 63,000 people died of TB in South Africa in 2018.
news & Stories from South Africa
ASCENT South Africa launches at randomization event
The ASCENT South Africa team recently held a successful randomization event which also served as the kick-off of the digital adherence technologies (DAT) project in South Africa.
Empowering youth in South Africa through the ASCENT project
The ASCENT team in South Africa has completed a training for the first group of interns that will take over research specific duties from the staff of healthcare facilities. This way the healthcare workers can focus on their patients.
ASCENT South Africa conducts site assessment visits
The ASCENT team in South Africa recently visited healthcare facilities as a part of the selection process for sites to be randomized to participate in the ASCENT project. During these visits, the team assessed each facility on their standard of care for Tuberculosis (TB) patients, as well as the TB notifications.