Stakeholders urged to intensify TB support programmes

Despite the Malawi Government and development partners supporting tuberculosis (TB)-related programmes, it has emerged that many people are not aware of some of the issues about the disease.

Traditional Authority Mtwalo of Mzimba said this in Mzuzu on Tuesday during the commemoration of World TB Day.

“If we are to win the fight against TB, we need to work together and support all initiatives in place to enhance the fight.

“Do not be deceived by some traditional leaders or some religious institutions that tell patients to stop medication purportedly because they can heal the disease,” he said.

Mtwalo appealed to fellow traditional leaders to encourage their subjects to go for TB screening, testing and treatment.

World Health Organisation (WHO) acting country representative Fabian Ndenzako agreed with Mtwalo on the need for collective support in TB fight.

He appealed to organisations working on HIV and Aids and TB interventions to work as partners, saying the two diseases are interrelated.

“As much as we are saying that TB is treatable, it is not easy to treat TB in patients who are also HIV positive,” he said.

World TB Day is commemorated every year on March 24.