World Tuberculosis Day: Let's work together and fight against TB - Guro Sorenson

The West Africa Aids Foundation (WAAF) and its complementary private health service provider, International Health Care Center (IHCC) are among the leading institutions vigorously fighting Tuberculosis (TB) in Ghana.

On the occasion of World TB Day, WAAF & IHCC wish all its clients, key stakeholders, and staff good felicitation and appreciation for the sustained fight to Stop TB.

The TB focal person at WAAF & IHCC, Ms. Guro Sorenson has reiterated the need for all civil society organizations in the health sector of Ghana, the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service, the National Tuberculosis Control Program, Donor Partners, stakeholders, and individuals to work closely and collaboratively towards the fight against TB in the country.

She stated this during her recount on WAAF & IHCC’s contributions towards the fight against TB to mark this year’s World TB Day celebration. Ms. Sorenson added that “WAAF & IHCC are therefore collaborating closely with the Ghana Health Services, Public Health Facilities, the National Tuberculosis Control Program, and District Health Directorates to effectively implement TB and related work”.

For the past 20 years, WAAF & IHCC, have been providing quality healthcare in TB screening, diagnostics, and treatment with the ultimate goal of detecting the missing TB cases and making sure all detected cases are put on treatment and successfully cured.

As part of the efforts to find missing TB cases in hard-to-reach communities in the country, WAAF & IHCC’s team in collaboration with the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Health Directorates and TB Coordinators, move from door to door, ghetto to ghetto, in an attempt to reach the population in these communities.

The team educates community members on TB, symptoms-based TB screening, and collection of sputum samples of individuals. In the COVID-19 pandemic year of 2020, through these efforts, 15 people were diagnosed with TB and are currently in treatment.

In addition to the aggressive efforts in finding TB cases, WAAF & IHCC also advocate for the enhancement in TB prevention, diagnostic and treatment methods, and commodities. She stated that WAAF is currently working with 6 ART facilities in the Greater Accra Region to increase awareness of and understanding of the benefits of TB Preventive Therapy (TPT) for people at higher risk of developing Tuberculosis disease.

With funding support from STOP TB Project, WAAF & IHCC are also working with the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Health Directorate in the Western Region to identify, screen, diagnose and treat TB cases.

The Technical Advisor to WAAF & IHCC, Dr. Naa Ashiley Vanderpuye-Donton reaffirms WAAF & IHCC’s commitment and efforts to continue the fight against TB and to achieve the national goals of reducing TB incidence by 25%, reducing TB mortality rate by 35% by the year 2025 and finally reducing the proportion of TB-affected families who suffer catastrophic cost due to TB from 64% in 2016 to 0% in 2025.

Dr. Naa Ashiley Vanderpuye-Donton calls on all well-meaning Ghanaians, CSOs, the private sector, national and international agencies to effectively collaborate with WAAF & IHCC and the government to win the fight against TB.