TB experts meet in Nairobi to take stock of fight against disease

Health experts from the African region who are dealing with tuberculosis are holding a high-level meeting in Nairobi.

The two-day meeting is bringing together experts from more than 15 countries in the region to among others take stock of the progress made in the fight against TB on the continent.

The high-level meeting is being hosted by Stop TB Partnership Kenya in collaboration with QIAGEN, a leading innovator in TB treatment solutions.

The experts also seek to unpack the commitments made by Heads of State during the United Nations High-Level Meeting (UNHLM) held in New York in September.

According to the National Coordinator of Stop TB Partnership Kenya Evelyne Kibuchi, the key focus of the meeting is the commitment by Heads of State to TB prevention.

Stop TB Partnership Kenya is an organisation that supports the national TB programme in disease response through advocacy.

“It is a meeting of experts from the African region who are dealing with TB. The agenda is to unpack the commitments that were endorsed by the Heads of State in New York on September 22 and we are particularly focusing on the commitment on prevention,” Kibuchi said.

“There was a political declaration that was signed and Kenya was represented by the Cabinet Secretary and the leaders committed that they are going to support countries that are heavily burdened by TB and Kenya is one of the countries,” she added.

Kenya is still ranked high among the 30 countries that contribute to 80 per cent of the global TB burden and is ranked fourth in Africa after South Africa, Nigeria and Ethiopia.

The Head, of regional marketing for QIAGEN Jacqueline Karachi has acknowledged that the fight against TB in the country requires collaborations between the government, the NGOs and the private sector.

She has noted that such forums which bring together experts from across the continent provide an avenue to point out the successes and challenges in the fight against TB.

“The forum brings the stakeholders in one room to point out their successes, more than they are pointing out their challenges because we have gone a long way on the African continent and we need to share and learn from each other in the efforts that they have made,” Karachi said.

Kenya in September joined the global community in the commitment to end Tuberculosis by 2030.

The world leaders launched the Coalition of Leaders to End Tuberculosis in an event in which Kenya was represented by Health CS Susan Nakhumicha on behalf of President William Ruto.

The event which was held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York coincided with the UNGA High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis.

The launch of the Coalition of Leaders to End TB is seen as a crucial step toward mobilizing global action and investments needed to accelerate TB control efforts and meet the targets outlined in the Global Plan to End TB by 2030.