New plan to rid Kenya of TB
An ambitious plan to rid Kenya of tuberculosis in the next five years was launched on Wednesday.
The plan, dubbed “Stop TB Partnership,” entails ensuring that every patient has access to effective diagnosis, treatment and cure.
Speaking at the pre-launch of the campaign in Nairobi yesterday, Public Health minister Beth Mugo praised the initiative and urged Kenyans to play a part in eliminating TB.
“To eliminate TB, we will need individual and collective effort,” she said. “At the end of this day, an estimated 200 people may die of this disease, and sadly, all these deaths are preventable,” the minister said.
The worldwide campaign calls on countries to commit themselves in the fight against TB by creating awareness and pushing for greater political commitment and funding for its prevention, care, treatment and research.
World Health Organisation country representative, Dr Abdoulie Jack, said that the campaign would ease Kenya’s disease burden.
He said Kenya was rated 13th out of 22 countries with a high TB burden globally and described this as an “unenviable position that requires urgent address.”
Mrs Mugo was optimistic that the country would achieve Millennium Development Goal number five that calls for the halting and reversal of the incidence of TB by 2015.
Dr Joseph Sitienei, the head of the Leprosy, TB and Lung Diseases division, urged Kenyans to be vigilant and avoid overcrowded areas.
Poor town planning
“If you have a cough for more than two weeks and are experiencing chest pains, visit the hospital,” he said.
Last year, Kenya recorded 110,065 cases of TB with Rift Valley and Nyanza provinces accounting for 40 per cent of the national prevalence.
Dr Sitienei said that TB was becoming an urbanisation disease fuelled by poor town planning, especially in the slums.
