By Shepherd Masunda, Own Correspondent
Epworth residents on got free health checkups and awareness as the Zimbabwe National Network of TB survivors launched it’s support group in the suburb.
Zimbabwe National Network of TB survivors is an umbrella body of people who were screened, diagnosed and tested and successfully treated for Tuberculosis and is found in all the Provinces in Zimbabwe.
Speaking during the launch, Zimbabwe National Network of TB survivors Chairperson Stanley Sibanda said their main activities include index tracing where they bring those living with an infected person for TB testing, defaulter tracking to bring back to care those who would have defaulted their medication.
He also added that other activities include TPT demand creation that is promoting TB Prevention Therapy (TPT) uptake at clinics as those drugs are critical in preventing Tuberculosis, health talks and awareness.
“Awareness campaigns are usually done in communities to sensitive the dangers of TB,”he said.
Zimbabwe National Network of TB survivors is mainly focusing on support group formations as a way of helping communities using those who survived tuberculosis (TB) believing they have the first hand information on TB and they are themselves a testimony that TB is curable.
Mr Sibanda thanked Epworth community and various stakeholders like Zim-TTech, National AIDS Council, BRTI and Mavambo supporting the event.
The World Health Organisation reports that 10 million people worldwide are afflicted with TB annually. Despite its preventable and curable nature, the disease claims the lives of 1.5 million people each year, making it the leading cause of d3ath from infectious diseases globally.
Reports indicate that essential TB drugs, including Rifampicin, Isoniazid, Ethambutol, and Pyrazinamide, are in short supply at various public hospitals in Harare and Chitungwiza which is worrying considering how infectious untreated TB is.