Africa-Press – Botswana. Despite Botswana’s commendable progress in strengthening its healthcare system, Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the least funded and most overlooked health problems in the country.
This was said by the Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS (BONELA) director, Ms Cindy Kelemi Baeletsi during the launch of the Botswana Parliament TB Caucus recently. Addressing Members of Parliament, healthcare stakeholders, and civil society leaders, Ms Kelemi-Baeletsi emphasised that while significant strides have been made in improving healthcare delivery, TB continued to be overshadowed by other health priorities.
“Despite the vast investments in health, TB often gets overshadowed, and this must change,” she stated, adding that the TB Caucus had a critical role to play in advocating for the allocation of adequate funds for the disease and ensuring it received the attention and resources it desperately needed.
Ms Kelemi-Baeletsi pointed that TB funding had often been side-lined, especially in the wake of recent global health crises. She cited the COVID-19 pandemic as a an example.
“Resources including diagnostic tools like GeneXpert machines were diverted primarily for COVID-19 testing, leaving TB patients undiagnosed and untreated,” she said.
She highlighted that during the advent of COVID-19, TB became a forgotten disease, adding that there was need to push the Ministries of Finance, Health and other relevant government bodies to dedicate sufficient funding to TB.
In addition to domestic advocacy, she called for regional and international collaboration to elevate TB on Africa’s health agenda. She encouraged leveraging platforms such as the Pan African Parliament and the African Union to amplify TB awareness and funding.
She also called on parliamentarians as lawmakers, to work with communities in their constituencies to raise awareness about TB, break down the stigma surrounding the disease, and campaign for non-discrimination of patients.
“Let us reaffirm our commitment to the targets agreed in the UN High-Level Political Declaration on TB and ensure that no one is left behind in the fight against TB,” she said
The launch of the Botswana Parliament TB Caucus marks a renewed national commitment to combating TB and represents a step forward in aligning local efforts with global goals to eliminate the disease by 2030.
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