GITEGA, April 29th (ABP) – Burundi, through the Ministry of Public Health and the Fight against AIDS, celebrated World TB Day on Friday 26/4/2024 at the Gitega health center (in the center of the country), under the theme: “Yes, we can put an end to tuberculosis”, a check on the site by ABP has revealed.
Dr. Denise Nkezimana, delegate of the World Health Organisation’s representative in Burundi, WHO, pointed out that in Burundi, that organization is sparing no effort to provide its support in strengthening the health system with a view to enabling health facilities to offer quality primary health care that effectively integrates the prevention and management of tuberculosis.
Dr. Nkezimana pointed out that the WHO will continue to produce and share knowledge on effective methods of combating tuberculosis, provide support to countries by updating treatment guidelines to take account of the latest practices, and expand access to rapid diagnostic tools.
She therefore called on all stakeholders to work together to provide the necessary resources, strengthen community participation, conduct research and form partnerships with the private sector, with a view to eliminating that disease in Africa.
Dr. Cléophile Akindavyi, Director General of Health Services and the Fight against AIDS, said that the World Health Organisation (WHO) report for 2023 showed that more than 10 million people worldwide had tested positive for tuberculosis, adding that Burundi had registered 7,799 patients out of the 12,690 expected to be screened. Of those patients, 4,960 were suffering from multi-resistant tuberculosis, she said.
On the basis of those figures, Dr Cléophile Akindavyi pointed out that there is still a long way to go, even though Burundi has set targets to put an end to tuberculosis by 2030. She said that 95% of people suffering from tuberculosis had been treated. She appealed to the people, the “abaremeshakiyago” community health workers and the associations fighting tuberculosis to redouble their efforts by referring anyone showing signs of tuberculosis to a health facility, in order to combat it effectively.
Finally, Dr Akindavyi pointed out that Burundi has registered a new tablet called “pédaquilline”, which replaces the daily injection of “kanamycin” for up to three months for people suffering from multi-resistant tuberculosis.
During the celebration of that day dedicated to the fight against tuberculosis, the Ministry took the opportunity to encourage the hospitals and health centers that had treated a number of tuberculosis patients, as well as the “Baremeshakiyago” who had accompanied more patients. It also offered food to tuberculosis patients and those who had recovered from the disease, from Gitega province.