Three years ago, AstraZeneca and the British Red Cross joined forces in the fight against tuberculosis - the single largest cause of adult death from infectious disease in the world. The company committed £300,000 over three years to helping the charity deliver a program designed to help combat TB in Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. Over 70% of the population in these countries live below the poverty line and the incidence of TB is among the highest in Central Asia. The program aims to combat the spread of TB and fight the stigma associated with the disease; to support the most vulnerable in society, and to build local capacity and develop a sustainable approach to fighting the problem.

The initiative centers around four core objectives:
- to increase the level of awareness of the disease within the community;
- to encourage people to seek early diagnosis if TB is suspected;
- to improve compliance to treatment when it has been diagnosed;
- to provide ongoing care and nutritional support to patients.

Information is distributed to homes, schools, factories and clinics about the preventative measures that can be taken against TB and the availability of free diagnosis and treatment. Working with government health ministers, community leaders and schools, specific groups such as schoolchildren and factory workers are also targeted through individual health education sessions. Particular attention is also given to such high-risk groups as former prisoners and the homeless.

Specially trained Red Cross community health nurses play a key role in providing homecare and nutritional support (in the form of food parcels and hot meals) to TB patients. By the end of 2003, over 50,000 adults and children had attended TB awareness sessions in Kyrgyzstan. Red Cross nurses in Turkmenistan referred 392 cases, of which 124 were diagnosed with TB. Of all newly detected cases in Dashoguz, Turkmenistan, 85% (204) have so far completed treatment. Over 3,000 family food parcels were distributed to patients (with an estimated use of 4 to 5 family members per parcel each month).

The project is co-ordinated through the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent societies and is also to be supported by the national Red Cross societies of the US, Sweden and Spain. An important part of the program is the development of best practice guidelines that can be used for wider dissemination within the region and elsewhere.