The Chairman of Stop TB Partnership Ghana David Kwesi Afreh is urging presidential action and commitment to effectively combat tuberculosis (TB) in the country.

This call comes ahead of a High-Level United Nations High-Level Meeting on TB in September.

In an interview on JoyNews' The Pulse, Mr Afreh highlighted the urgency and significance of Ghana's participation in this global platform.

“It's important to note at this point that in 2018, we had the United Nations high-level meeting with tuberculosis. Where, our own president, his Excellency Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo was present to sign onto certain commitments and targets for Ghana. In fact, given this target, we were expecting that by 2022 ending, he would have brought in a lot of energy and that is putting TB on his own political agenda, to be able to drive resources towards ending TB by 2030.”

He further stressed the need for strong leadership and prioritisation to accelerate efforts in ending TB, a disease that continues to affect countless lives in Ghana.

For him, the crucial role of the President in championing the cause and allocating the necessary resources to fight against TB cannot be underestimated.

“About three people die everyday of tuberculosis in this country. We have not bought all the logistics that need to that we need to cover the whole country for easy access to diagnosis. Sometimes there are shortages of cartridges that are used to do this diagnosis. So it is critically important for him to bring his own political accent onto the fight against tuberculosis.”

The chairman of the stop TB Partnership Campaign also noted there’s the need for Ghana to reset it’s priorities to focus on resource provision for TB control programs including increased funding and sustainable financing mechanisms to strengthen healthcare systems, enhancing diagnostic capabilities, and the provision of quality treatment and care to all those affected by TB.

“It is screening we need to do. Once you have diagnosis, logistics, cartridges and X-ray machines that can diagnose childhood TB is diagnosed in adults. And you have it all over the country and you are empowering civil society to watch in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service and the district levels, you are able to have the situation.”

The call by the partnership echoes the global commitment to end TB by 2030, as outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By prioritizing TB control, Ghana can make significant strides towards achieving this goal, saving lives, and ensuring a healthier future for all.

As Ghana prepares to participate in the upcoming UN High-Level Meeting on TB, the Chairman of Stop TB Partnership Ghana remains hopeful that the government will seize this opportunity to showcase its dedication to ending TB and contribute to the global efforts in eradicating this preventable and treatable disease.

“So we need government, we need the president to come. If we are talking about resources, we need presidential action. Can the President call a business forum for TB where we bring the oil players, media players and banks, so that we all play to the country, the situation we have on hand and the resources that are needed? Let's see how we can galvanise everybody around the table to the retail.” He told Blessed Sogah.

Many civil society groups under the umbrella of the partnership have held several engagements and contributed significantly to the TB campaign. David Afreh however fears all the gains made may come to a knot if government does not step up its efforts.

“We have worked with most of the partners around on TV on radio and there are house-to-house education that go on. That is what the civil society partners in the country coming from the Stop TB Partnership Ghana do. We have community-level radios, you have even community information centers that are being used. Maybe what is important is how much resources can we pump into strengthening these community-based organisations and that is what is also deficient because as we speak, the government by itself is not able to push money into TB. It is a global fund that has been supporting us and that is why we are not able to achieve the target that we are supposed to achieve.”

Stop TB Partnership has therefore extended an invitation to the President to attend the upcoming UNHLM indicating that;

“The time for action is now, and with the presidential commitment, renewed priorities, and adequate resources, Ghana can pave the way for a TB-free future.”