Africa-Press – Malawi. Malawi is on track in the fight against Tuberculosis (TB) amid Covid-19 pandemic as authorities are still in touch with patients for quality health services.
According to National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTP) managed to reach 88% patients with 8% deaths on TB in 2020 despite Covid-19. This means the fight against is on tract.
But the control body says there is need for increased awareness about TB so that people in the country should know what is required to prevent the disease. This was observed during the sidelines of the Bi-Annual review meeting on TB for media professionals in Salima on Thursday, July 1, 2021.
Deputy NTP Coordinator, Iasias Dambe says Malawi government through his orgainsation has put in place more efforts to fight the disease despite Covid-19 pandemic He however lauded TB patients for adhering to health services care advises amid Covid-19 where door to door visits has worked successfully .
Dambe assured that authorities with funding from global fund and other implementing agencies will continue to put in place mechanisms that will eliminate the disease in the country.
“We are tracing every case in our communities and put the presumptive cases on drugs. If people can come for screening and receive drugs in time then these cases can be reduced drastically, he observed.
Tb remains a public health problem in Malawi alongside malaria and HIV and Aids among others. In 2020, about 15,000 against 16,000 in 2019 people were found with TB, a drop attributed to Covid-19 pandemic.
Some of the strategies put in place to contain TB including community sputum collection, mobile van diagnosis, Door to Door campaign, collaboration with other ministries, contact tracing, isonized therapy and among others.
