26 Mar 2014

A rigorous multi sectoral approach is the only solution that could ensure victory against Tuberculosis (TB).

Director for Centre for Disease Control, Dr Kathleen Tommey said in her keynote address during World TB Day commemoration that with continued partnership, great progress in the response to TB could be achieved.

“We need to extend our engagement to other stakeholders including government, civil society and the corporate community to reach a common goal,” said Dr Tommey.

She said while Botswana had demonstrated commitment through increased funding allocation to this cause, she would continue to need support from development partners for improved services.

Dr Tommey further indicated that since this year’s global campaign centres around finding, treating and curing all TB patients, the dream to eliminate TB would not be realised if the health ministry failed to meaningfully engage communities.

She said people affected with TB should be empowered to actively participate in decisions that affect them together with family members who she said must also be recognised as a significant resource to support TB.

She said it was through universal access to life saving antiretroviral treatment that a significant impact was evident on the reduction of opportunistic infections including TB.

The Ministry of Health together with the US government has embarked on a joint evaluation of the new more rapid and sensitive test for TB known as Xpert MTB/RIF.

“Until recently, health providers have relied on a diagnostic tool developed more than 100 years ago to detect TB by looking at the sputum through a microscope. We hope that the Xpert MTB/RIF machines will help Botswana patients receive more accurate and faster results and detect drug resistance,” she stated.

She also reported that Botswana was being challenged by threat of drug-resistant TB and multi-drug resistant TB which complicate treatment adding that since 2007 the country has 11 reported cases of extensively drug resistant TB which is a more severe form of TB.

Meanwhile, WHO’s Country Representative Dr Felicitas Zawaira expressed optimism over the fact that while the world continued to experience setbacks in the rise of Multi-Drug Resistant TB, there was a decline as treatment success rate improved.

She emphasised that TB was curable and yet it was a major global public health problem.  

Presenting the days’ objectives, the Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health Ms Shenaaz El-Halabi said Molepolole was chosen as the host village due to the high number of TB cases in Kweneng District. Ends