An Advocacy group, Policy Alert to Fund Tuberculosis (TB) Cluster, has called on private sector players to include TB funding and control programmes in their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Mr Faith Paulinus, Head, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning, Policy Alert to Fund TB Cluster, made the call in Awka, at a consultative forum organised by the Gender Perspective and Social Development Centre (GPSDC).
The Fund TB Project in Anambra State is sponsored by USAID through the Palladium Group under its Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE) initiative.
Paulinus said that collaboration between the government and the private sector could drive transformative budgeting and financing for improved TB services in the country.
According to him, the benefits of private sector involvement in eradicating tuberculosis in the country cannot be overemphasised, and government alone cannot do it.
“The Anambra state government needs to show greater commitment to the fight against TB through increased domestic budgeting and releases.
“Players in the private sector can also incorporate TB into their companies’ CSR as an excellent way of supporting efforts in the state.
“The companies can acquire GeneXpert machines, provide funds to subsidise TB diagnosis, and help to create TB awareness in their host communities.
“Such efforts will help to increase access and domestic efforts towards eradicating TB in Anambra state,” he said.
Dr Ugochukwu Chukwulobelu, Programme Manager, Anambra State Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Buruli Ulcer Management, identified lack of funds as the major barrier to TB control in the state.
Chukwulobelu, who was represented by Ms Chiamaka Oguejiofor, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, lamented that response to TB had been largely donor driven.
“We record 219 new TB cases per 100,000 annually which shows that TB is a significant public health challenge.
“However, the summary of our problem is funding. If there is funding, sustainability will be assured even in the face of donor fatigue,” he said.
Chukwulobelu said that Anambra had about 800 Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) centres, 14 GeneXpert machines and 13 GeneXpert sites located in communities, which had greatly increased access to treatment.
Mrs Eucharia Anekwe, Executive Director, Gender Perspective and Social Development Centre (GPSDC), said that the private sector could also support outreaches against Tuberculosis.
Anekwe urged civil society advocates and the media to intensify TB awareness and enhance advocacy strategies for TB funding in the state.
Earlier, Mrs Oge Ozoemena, Programme Manager, GPSDC, said that the goal of the forum was to enhance and sustain domestic investment required to manage TB interventions in the state.
By Lucy Osuizigbo-Okechukwu
