Bi Hawa, Community health champion
Bi Hawa is a community health champion and TB survivor from Kibweni, Zanzibar, Tanzania. Amref supports her with training to educate her community about TB prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
Read the 2023 Impact Report
Bi Hawa Mohammed, an entrepreneur from Kibweni on Zanzibar Island is a health advocate in her community.
Having recovered from tuberculosis (TB) herself after nursing her sister through complications of a serious TB infection, she now supports women to identify symptoms of TB and works to combat the stigma around having the disease.
Bi Hawa recounts the difficulties she faced while nursing her sister;
I looked after my sister to make sure she was taking her medication as directed. Since she had also had a stroke, it was not easy managing her condition.
A significant health challenge
Bi Hawa lives in Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous province of Tanzania. It is one of the 30 high-burden countries for TB and TB/HIV coinfection, with an estimated 133,000 new TB cases recorded in the past year, including 22,000 children (WHO data). Across Africa, it remains a significant health challenge.
Despite representing only 15% of the global population, Africa accounts for 23% of new TB cases and 31% of TB-related deaths. Africa also faces a growing burden of drug-resistant TB, affecting approximately 520,000 people (Africa CDC figures, 2022).
A community-centred approach to tackle TB
Amref Health Africa is using a community-centred approach to improve TB surveillance, early detection, and treatment of people living in low-income communities. The Afya Shirikishi programme combines training community health workers, schools outreach, and one-stop-shop mobile clinics, to identify and diagnose TB patients as early as possible.
When Bi Hawa fell ill, healthcare workers from Amref’s program visited her at home.
"I was first educated about tuberculosis, and after getting the test results, I received guidance about the treatment plan. Thereafter, doctors visited me at home to see my progress," she recalls.
These home visits are crucial, especially in households with repeat TB cases, as they help prevent the spread of drug-resistant TB caused by mismanaged prescriptions. Community health volunteers play a vital role by visiting families affected by TB, collecting samples to prevent community spread, and referring positive cases to local hospitals. They also share TB awareness messages to reduce stigma and educate the community.
Watch this video (left) to hear from Magreth Peter, a community health volunteer in Kibweni.
Becoming a health champion
Now recovered, Bi Hawa has resumed her business and taken on the role of a health champion in her community. She actively engages with local women's groups, spreading awareness and fighting the stigma associated with TB.
"Prevention is always better than cure, and health is a cornerstone of our lives," she emphasizes.
Bi Hawa leads her women's group and monitors TB cases in her community, collaborating with community health workers to address specific situations. As a single mother of five, she stresses the importance of vigilance:
"I've learned how to help others, and I don't take it casually if I see someone having a cough. Instead, I advise them to get tested because it's possible that it's not a normal cough but the early stages of tuberculosis," she says.
Bi Hawa Mohammed’s journey from patient to health champion highlights the power of community support and education in the fight against TB.
Read more
Find out more about the Afya Shirikishi programme in Zanzibar, and more of Amref's programmes in the 2023 Impact Report.