By; AMOS TAUNA, Kaduna
Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus has opined that to bring Tuberculosis under control, there is the need for joint action between communities and the health system.
Making the call during a news conference on Tuesday, the director-general explained that in helping to make TB a policy priority as a vital processes, the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, universal health coverage and primary healthcare agenda all recognised community empowerment.
He said the WHO launched the new DG Flagship Initiative to End TB to support these efforts, stressing that nearly 40 per cent of the 10.6 million people with TB were not receiving the healthcare services they needed.
According to him, “Efforts to bring TB under control have been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic and conflicts in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.”
He added that all of this makes working with affected communities and civil society critical to bringing this killer disease under control.
He explained that on World TB Day, he launched a Flagship Initiative to End TB aimed for the next four years to support the fast-tracking of progress towards ending TB, and advancing research and innovation on new vaccines.
The WHO Civil Society Task Force on TB, according to him has been working to bring the voices of TB-affected communities and civil society to the work of WHO.
With this in mind, he explained that new WHO guidance for community engagement to end TB will be published soon.
