Before she became a trusted voice in her community’s fight against tuberculosis and other infectious diseases, Nandipha Titana was a shy young woman—quiet, but drawn to helping others. While volunteering as an interpreter in the local family court system, she began to find her voice.
While working as a translator, Nandipha was approached by a community leader from a medical research center who was seeking recruiters to work with pregnant adolescents and people struggling with substance abuse. “I don't see myself in an office environment, but rather being out there in the community,” she says.
Two years ago, Nandipha joined the team at Be Part Yoluntu Centre (Be Part) an established health clinic and research center based in her hometown of Mbekweni, a township in the western cape of South Africa—a place she knows deeply and cares for even more. There, she found a role that combined her love for community work with her ability to communicate across languages to access lifesaving interventions.
One of the most significant health challenges in Mbekweni is tuberculosis (TB). According to rent data collected at the Be Part clinic, TB cases across Mbekweni rose from 77% in June 2023 to 81% in January 2025. This trend mirrors what’s happening in many low- and middle-income countries, where funding for essential TB services continues to decline.
Globally, the World Health Organization reported a record 8.2 million new TB cases in 2023, with 1.25 million resulting in death. “Many individuals in the community have at least one or two family members who have died from tuberculosis,” Nandipha says. At Be Part, she found not just a job, but a calling—using her language skills and lived experience to connect people at risk with lifesaving testing and care.
In addition to TB testing and treatment, Be Part offers a wide range of essential health services. While other facilities in the region may operate with limited capacity, Be Part provides walk-in clinic days that include contraception, pregnancy testing, and STI and HIV testing.
The center also operates a mobile unit that brings care directly into the community. Team members visit neighborhoods to assess individuals for clinical trial participation and provide information about TB vaccines and other treatments. “We need to explain our mission in the language people understand—in Xhosa,” Nandipha explains.
With TB on the rise in Mbekweni, trust has become essential—and Nandipha is helping build that trust with her community, one conversation at a time. For the past 16 years, that trust has enabled the organization to reach more people—especially youth, who are increasingly vulnerable to TB. In many cases, children and adolescents are exposed at home without even knowing a parent is infected or undergoing treatment.
Be Part’s TB program is working to lower case rates through a holistic approach: identifying symptoms early, linking patients to care, and vaccinating at-risk family members. It’s work that’s not always easy—but for Nandipha, it’s deeply personal, and it’s worth it.
“Be Part is like a helping hand to the community,” Nandipha says. “And with this knowledge, we’ve saved lives.”
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