The Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Sierra Leone, together with the World Health Organization and CISMAT, has called on community stakeholders, NGOs, the private sector, media, religious organizations, policy makers and persons affected by Tuberculosis to take action in ending the disease. He urged partners to speak up and take necessary measures to discourage practices that would promote the spread of the disease in Sierra Leone.
Sierra Leone is ranked as one of the 30 countries in the world with a very high prevalent of the disease.
This was disclosed in a press conference held at the Ministry of Health and Sanitation office in Freetown on Friday 23rd March 2018. The theme for this year’s celebration is: “WANTED: LEADERS FOR A TB-FREE WORLD. You can make history. End TB.”
Doctor Linda Foray, National Telecommunications Program Manager, Ministry of Health and Sanitation, stated that “We can all be leaders in the effort to end TB.” TB is the world leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, responsible for nearly 1.7 million deaths each year.
“Each year, it is estimated that 22,000 Sierra Leoneans fall sick with TB, including over 2,600 children, with the equivalent of eight TB-related deaths each day. Currently there are still many TB patients who are not diagnosed. This contributes to continuous transmission of the disease and increases the risk of complications for those affected,” she further stated.
The National Tele Communications Program Manager noted that, over the years, they have seen great progress in the country’s capacity to manage TB cases, with treatment and testing available for free at hundreds of health facilities across the country. The Ministry of Health has, according to her, screened 46,878 people of which 16, 142 were treated for Tuberculosis.
According to World Health Organization (WHO), globally there are 10.4 million new of TB, with the majority of them in Asia and Africa.
Sierra Leone is considered one of the top 10 highest incident rates with at least 10,000 estimated new cases per year. TB is an infectious disease that affects mainly the lungs (pulmonary TB, or PTB) but can also attack any part of the body.