The Kick TB Campaign is a unique project that uses football (soccer), the World’s most popular sport, to educate and engage young people in the effort to stop the spread of tuberculosis. First inaugurated in South Africa during the 2010 World Cup, Kick TB has expanded to Brazil, the host country of the 2014 World Cup. The goal of Kick TB is to enlist children as “health agents” by teaching them about TB symptoms, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. In doing so, Kick TB aims to not only raise awareness about tuberculosis, but also combat the stigma surrounding the disease. For more information about the Kick TB Campaign in Brazil see the following article Kick TB Brazil_news.
Related Links
WGND Blog Post: Kick TB Campaign: Scoring big in South Africa and Beyond
WGND Blog Post: Kick TB!
About Kick TB Brazil
Five thousand balls were produced with TB symptoms and prevention messages, to be distributed and used for especial activities in different schools from strategic areas of Sao Paolo city. In addition, students, teachers and health professionals were sensitized to the different aspects of the disease such as symptoms, prevention, diagnosis and treatment, as well as social aspects like fighting stigma and prejudice, the importance to follow the treatment until completion and the support to TB patients.
The next step will be the delivery of the Health Passports to students. Through this tool, students will be able to analyze if TB symptoms are present in their families, acting as “health agents”, spreading their TB knowledge and identifying people who might have TB. After filling in the passport, it shall be returned to the teacher who will forward to health professionals. They will screen the symptomatic to the asymptomatic homes and schedule a visit for further orientation for those who are presented with TB signs.
A Monitoring and Evaluation plan is under development in order to measure the impact of the project, and based on the evidences, spread to the rest of the country.