Zambia is joins ‘’the global’’ of eliminating TB by 2020

(Top picture Dr Mubanga below picture Dr David Singini)

By BILKE MULENGA

The Zambian Government through the Ministry of Health is making strides to work with all stakeholders to join the global goal of eliminating tuberculosis TB by the year 2030.

In an interview ahead of TB Day in Lusaka, National TB/Leprosy Programme Manager Angel Mubanga says TB drugs are free in all Government health facilities, adding that TB is curable once the patient completes the prescribed treatment.

He says the Government has realized that some people die from TB because they have a mirth that TB is incurable, while others believe that TB can only be treated by traditional healers as it is being caused by being cursed or after bewitched as such they do not seek to avoid modern treatment.

Dr Mubanga said in view of eliminating TB in Zambia the Government has embarked on what it is termed as, Matching Towards, Finding 45,000 People With TB and put them on treatment in order to achieve the goal of eliminating TB by 2030.

 He said that people at risk of contracting TB are in two categories which include those with low immunity and those who work in dusty places.

The category of low immunity are people with chronic illnesses or underline conditions such as diabetic, people living with HIV, those on cancer treatments such as chemotherapy patients and chronic kidney problems among others.

Those who work in dusty places are also at risk of contracting TB, because they inhale dust which has a potential of damaging their lungs. Once their lungs are damaged, they become so susceptible to developing TB.

“In the category of people who work in dusty places include the miners, stone crushers, cement loaders, people who work in hammer hills, in quarries.

Those who work in construction industries such as building companies and those in roads are at high risks of contracting the disease.

‘’We are saying that people who work in environments where they are subjected to inhaling dust should always ensure protecting themselves from inhaling dust,’’ he said.

The professional medical advice for people working in industries is that: ‘’They should use industrial masks or face masks or indeed use any piece of cloth to cover the mouth and nose to prevent dust from entering the body through the mouth and nose and subsequently go to the lungs.

He further highlighted that cigarette smoking and heavy alcohol consumption also put people at higher risk of developing TB as those two lifestyles contribute to lower the peoples’ immunities.

The other thing which puts each individual at risk of developing TB is when the lungs are damaged. We know that the major thing that highly contributes to the damage of the lung is dust.

Therefore people who work in such places are advised to go often to have tested for TB at any Government health facility.

Dr Mubanga explained that every human being has got TB. This is the TB people in the health fraternity commonly referred to as latent TB or dormant TB.

The dormant TB gets triggered when someone faces a challenge of low immunity or happens to have lungs damaged due to dust inhaling.

“The Zambian government in collaboration with cooperating partners offers all TB tests and treatments free, so each individual who thinks is at a risk of developing TB is always advised to go for a test at any nearby government health facility,’’ he said.

The doctor also explains that those individuals who are not with any symptoms of TB but work in dusty environments are encouraged to go to health facilities and screened for TB.

If such a person found TB negative, he can be put on a preventive therapy or treatment which can last for one month or two months.

Health workers put people who work in TB risk environments on TB preventive therapy because they know that those ones always are at higher risk of developing the disease.

Dr Mubanga emphasized that TB is curable and all health facilities in Zambia have enough drugs to treat TB.

It is estimated that each year 60 000 people in Zambia fall ill with TB. 45 000 represents 75 percent of the estimated burden of TB in Zambia.

The goal of the Ministry of Health is to eliminate TB in Zambia by 2030 in line with Global Target.

In order to accelerate progress towards this goal, the National TB program has embarked on a program called Matching towards finding 45 000 people with TB.

Among other stakeholders working with the Ministry of health to eliminate TB in Zambia is Centre for Infectious Diseases and Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) under the project of USAID Tuberculosis Local Organizations Network Project (TBLON)

Dr David Singini is Southern province regional TB technical lead and explains that TB is an airborne disease caused by a germ called mycobacterium tuberculosis.

He laments that TB is one of the leading causes of death from an infectious agent, adding that globally, in 2022, 10.6 million people (133 in 100,000 populations per year) people got infected with this devastating disease.

In his paper presentation at the media engagement workshop in Livingstone recently, Dr Singini said according to the World Health Organization Global TB report for 2023, 1.2 million people died world over

“Zambia is one of the top 30 high TB burden countries in the world. In 2022 alone there were 59,000 new TB cases in Zambia, this translated to 295 in 100,000 people were infected with TB. Further 5 300 people had died in the same year.

Other statistics show that in 2019 Southern Province was one of two provinces which had recorded the highest number of persons that died from TB.

 The TBLON project has since partnered with the Ministry of Health in taking some measures that could help in mitigating the escalating number of TB cases in the country.

Dr Singini cited among other interventions as training of health workers on the Ministry of Health recommended TB treatment approaches for TB.

The other one is supporting establishment and strengthening of courier systems for sputum sample transportation from regions without testing capacity to facilities with machines for testing for TB.

The Southern Province regional TB Technical Lead – USAID Tuberculosis Local Organizations Network says linking of private health facilities and district health offices so that TB services are being accessed at little or no cost to members of the public that go to private health facilities.

He also mentioned the programme of engaging civic and traditional areas for sensitization and awareness on TB disease in communities as another workable measure.

Mr George Musole is one of the living testimonies of having been cured from TB after being bedridden for more than six months.

A 53-year-old man of Lusaka’s Garden Compound got sick in 2010 and for more than six months he was bedridden.

‘’Yes TB is curable, because for me, I was diagnosed with TB. I was sick for more than six months, some people started saying that I was bewitched because I was shivering a lot and I lost weight.

‘’But when my brother took me to the hospital it came out that I had TB and I was commenced on treatment, after nine months I was again texted and I was told I had no TB anymore,’’ he said.

Mr Musole, a bricklayer by profession, has since gone back to his work and he says since then he lives a healthier life.

It is everyone’s role to support the Government and its cooperating partners to attain the goal of eliminating TB by the year 2030.