Why we started Ditenda
The problem
In many health systems, the biggest failure is not always diagnosis itself. It is what happens after. Patients are screened, tested, referred or asked to return, and then get lost between steps.
This is especially serious in low-resource settings, where health workers are managing heavy workloads, fragmented workflows and limited time. A test may be ordered but never completed. A result may be ready but not reviewed. Treatment may be confirmed but not started in time. A missed follow-up can go unnoticed until the patient is already out of care.
The problem is not only lack of data. It is lack of a system that turns care pathway breakdowns into clear operational action. Most software either stores records or displays information. Very little is built to help frontline teams understand who is at highest risk of being lost in care, why they are being flagged, and what should happen next.
When that visibility is missing, patients fall through the cracks and limited staff time is spent reacting too late.
The idea
We started Ditenda to build software for continuity of care. Not another records system, not another dashboard, but a platform that helps care teams see where patients are being lost and what action should happen next.
Ditenda is the platform. CatchTB is the first product built on it. CatchTB focuses on tuberculosis care and helps health workers follow patients across key steps such as screening, testing, sample collection, result review, treatment start and follow-up.
Instead of expecting staff to manually piece together who needs attention, CatchTB detects missed or delayed steps in the care pathway, flags patients at risk of falling out of care, and helps teams prioritise their next actions. That may mean reviewing a result, calling a patient, scheduling a return visit or escalating follow-up.
Our goal is to make continuity of care operational. The system should not just store what happened. It should help teams respond before the next step is missed.
What we are focused on
Right now, we are focused on one thing: building and deploying CatchTB as the first product on Ditenda.
We are starting with hospitals and frontline care teams that need a simple, practical way to identify which TB patients are most at risk of being lost to follow-up and what should happen next. Our focus is not broad digital health. It is continuity of care, patient tracking and operational prioritisation.
We care about software that is usable in real settings with limited time, limited connectivity and limited staff capacity. That means clear workflows, strong case tracking, practical prioritisation and tools that support action rather than create more admin.
We are starting with TB, but we are building Ditenda as a platform for care pathways where patients are too often lost between steps.
Mustaf
Founder, Ditenda