TB is curable but current efforts to find treat and cure everyone who gets ill with the disease are insufficient.
This was the key message at the 2014 World Tuberculosis (TB) Day commemoration that was held on March 24, 2014 at the Port Reitz Hospital Grounds in Mombasa.
World TB Day is a global event that is marked every year on March 24th, to raise awareness about the global and national TB epidemic and efforts to eliminate the disease. This year, Kenya’s World TB Day commemoration was marked under the theme Reaching Our Unreached: Find, Treat and Cure All TB which was derived from the international theme of Reaching the Three Million: A TB Test, Treatment and Cure for All.
Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Hon James Macharia, American Ambassador to Kenya, Robert Godec, and Mombasa Governor, Hon Ali Hassan Joho were the chief guests at the event that was attended by over five hundred participants from all walks of life.
Prior to the World TB Day commemoration event, there was an intensive three day campaign to intensify TB case finding at selected health facilities within the Coastal region. Awareness sessions were also conducted within selected schools at the Coast and also within drug dens which have been noted to have a high rate of TB treatment defaulters.
The commemoration event began with a colorful procession from the Chaani’s Chief Camp in Changamwe to the Port Reitz Hospital Grounds. The procession was led by the Salvation Army Band and the Safe Pwani Entertainers followed by a sizeable number of volunteers who handed over TB related Information Education Communication (IEC) material to curious onlookers.
The Chief Guests had an opportunity to visit the Port Reitz TB Clinic and TB Lab where they observed the process of TB diagnosis to treatment and more importantly, how the newly acquired gene expert machine is used in TB Diagnosis.
One of the key highlights of the event was the personal testimony from a recovered TB patient who strongly urged members of the public to get tested for TB and stick through the rigorous treatment process until they were fully cured. She also urged members of the public to refrain from stigmatizing TB patients because she could attest that TB was curable.
In his speech, the Cabinet Secretary, Hon Macharia observed that,” An estimated 20,000 TB cases go undetected in the country each year. These missed cases are mainly from vulnerable and marginalized populations, informal settlements, migrants and drug users among others. In order to reach the 20,000 in an effort to eliminate TB as a public health problem, we will need to aggressively scale up TB programs.”
“While we appreciate that funding for TB control has increased over the years, the National Government will continue to allocate resources to ensure scaling up of high impact interventions. This will ensure availability of quality TB medicines in all treatment sites in the country. “He added.
US Ambassador to Kenya, Robert Godec also noted that, “Devoting our time one day every year to talk about TB gives us an opportunity to raise awareness about prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease, and to renew our commitment to address this public health challenge around the globe.”
Ambassador Godec however added that, “The elimination of TB within our lifetime is within our reach, but cannot be achieved without a strong joint commitment among governments, donors, civil society, and health workers on the ground. We can eliminate TB by cooperating together on research, early diagnosis, and better access to treatment, advocacy, and social mobilization.”
Mombasa Governor, Ali Hassan Joho also reiterated his county’s commitment in fighting TB by saying,” We are putting in place plans with relevant authorities in a strategic and robust manner to counter TB and eventually stamp it out of our county.”
Governor Joho added,” As the world marks yet another TB Day, our country and county commemorates the same with a marked reduced number of new infections and management of the already infected. This is not a fight that only health workers can win; we have to commit ourselves individually and collectively towards the elimination of TB.”
The burden of tuberculosis (TB) in Kenya is among the highest in the world with an incidence rate of 288 cases per 100,000 people and a prevalence rate of 291 cases per 100,000 people. Mortality from TB in Kenya is also above the global average at 22 deaths per 100,000. High poverty levels in Kenya, estimated at 46%, have contributed to the burden of TB, through poor housing, poor nutrition, overcrowding in homes and at workplaces, alcohol and substance abuse and poor access to health care services.
Kenya’s National Tuberculosis Leprosy and Lung Disease Unit (NTLD-Unit) in collaboration with development partners has seen Kenya recognized as the first country in Africa to achieve WHO global targets of detecting 70% and treating 85% of these TB cases successfully.
In spite of these gains, more remains to be done to increase case notification, respond to drug-resistant TB, scale up TB-HIV collaboration, promote research and development to accelerate progress in point-of-care diagnostics, treatment regimens, effective vaccines to prevent TB in adults and avail adequate financing for TB care and control.