TB Champions put advocacy into action across Khayelitsha

By: Rene Sparks

Forty TB Champions gathered at Isivivana Centre in Khayelitsha on 11 and 18 September 2026 for training on the TB Advocacy Toolkit, bringing practical community experience into discussions about how to strengthen TB advocacy.

The TB Champions, supported by TB Proof, work across four health facilities in the Khayelitsha Sub District. Their engagement during the sessions went beyond learning about advocacy tools, with participants sharing ideas on how they could reach more people in their communities and support health facilities to improve TB testing.

A key concern raised was the need to reach more men. Participants discussed ways to encourage men to test for TB and increase testing across all four facilities.

The Champions identified places where community members already spend time, including churches, schools, taxi ranks and health facilities, as opportunities to share accurate information about TB.

They also discussed how regular awareness sessions could help community members recognise TB symptoms, understand the importance of testing and know where to seek services.

Turning training into action

The training quickly moved from discussion to action. When an outreach was planned for 21 September, the TB Champions offered to help mobilise people in the community.
They committed to starting conversations at multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings at each of the four health facilities. This would create an opportunity for the Champions to share community concerns with health workers and strengthen communication between communities and facilities.

The TB Dashboard and TB Testing Barometers were also introduced during the sessions. Participants discussed how these tools could be used in their work with health facilities to understand testing performance and support conversations about where improvements are needed.

For the men who attended the training, the focus was clear: reaching men means going to places where they already gather.

They committed to mobilising men through sports fields, taverns, car washes and taxi ranks, using these spaces to start conversations about TB testing and awareness.
The two-day training showed how advocacy can move from learning about tools to identifying practical ways to use them.

For the TB Champions in Khayelitsha, the next step is taking those conversations into their communities and health facilities, where they can support efforts to increase TB testing and strengthen local engagement.

TB champions, TBAC and TB Proof at Isivivana Centre