Lesotho is a small land-locked country surrounded by South Africa. It has both the second highest incidence of TB (640 per 100,000) and the second highest HIV co-infection rate of adult TB cases in the world.
In this predominantly mountainous country with three-quarters of the population living in rural settings, diagnosis remains inaccessible to the majority of affected communities. The Stop TB Partnership’s TB REACH initiative in collaboration with FIND brings testing and treatment to the most remote villages through innovative approaches. Horse riders ensure sample collection in secluded areas where riding is the only transport option and village health workers use a mobile text message system to track test results and put patients on treatment without delay.