August 26, 2022

Angola’s president set for second term as party leads vote

Angola’s Joao Lourenco was set to remain president Thursday, as his party maintained its lead in the country’s most hotly contested election in its democratic history, with nearly all the votes counted.

Results published by the country’s electoral commission gave the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) 51.07 percent of the vote with more than 97 percent of ballots tallied.

This is significantly lower than its previous performance where it garnered 61 percent.

The main opposition group, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by Adalberto Costa Junior, stood at 44.05 percent — a huge jump from 26.67 percent in the 2017 election.

The leader of the winning party automatically ascends to the presidency in the oil-rich former Portuguese colony.

A senior member of the opposition party and former rebel movement told a news conference that the official results did not tally with their own parallel count.

“We hope there can be common sense, we are not encouraging a rebellion, the process is not over, we must remain calm,” said Anastacio Ruben Sicato.

The ruling party has seen a steady decline in support in recent peacetime elections. In 2012 it romped to victory with 71.84 percent against UNITA’s 18.66 percent. In 2008, MPLA won with 81.64 percent.

Its parliamentary share of seats dropped to 124 from 150 in the last election, while UNITA’s nearly doubled to 90 from 51 of the 220 parliamentary seats up for grabs.

– ‘Always the same story’ –

The MPLA has ruled Angola for nearly 50 years since the country gained independence in 1975, before a civil war erupted, lasting 27 years and claiming at least 500,000 lives.

Multi-party elections in Angola were introduced in 1992.

But the MPLA’s Jose Eduardo dos Santos, first elected in 1979, remained in office until 2017, when Lourenco succeeded him for a first five-year term.

The latest election has been overshadowed by a struggling economy, inflation, poverty and drought, compounded by dos Santos’ death last month in Spain.

“MPLA leads the count,” read state newspaper Jornal de Angola’s front page on Thursday.

Residents in the oceanside capital Luanda reacted with mixed feelings to the preliminary results.

“I voted for UNITA, and I do not believe in these results,” said Jorge, a 40-year-old mechanic who did not give his surname, accusing the electoral commission of being in cahoots with the ruling party.

“The country is not going to change, it’s always the same story.”

Lourenco, a 68-year-old former general educated in the Soviet Union, is credited with far-reaching reforms since taking power.

These include boosting financial transparency and efficiency, fighting sweeping nepotism and corruption, and promoting business-friendly policies to lure foreign investors.

Critics say his anti-graft crusade is one-sided and aimed at settling political scores, targeting children and cronies of his predecessor.

– Fears of tampering –

But his party supporters exude pride in the formerly Soviet-backed party.

“I am happy, the MPLA has given young people opportunities, there is more work and transparency,” said 27-year-old shopkeeper Madalena Antonio, commenting on the early results.

“The government did what it could do. Things will get better.”

The MPLA has traditionally wielded control over the electoral process, and state media and opposition and civic groups have raised fears of voter tampering.

Results in past elections, including 2017, have been contested — a process that can take several weeks.

UNITA’s deputy leader Abel Chivukuvuku said earlier that the party’s own tally showed it was ahead.

There is a “clear provisional indication of a winning trend for UNITA in all provinces,” he told a live streamed press conference late Wednesday.

More than 14 million people were registered to vote.

A team of observers from the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) declared the election to have been organised in “accordance with international requirements” and Angolan laws.

Angola is Africa’s second largest crude producer, but the oil bonanza also nurtured corruption and nepotism under dos Santos.

Dos Santos will be buried on Sunday, which would have been his 80th birthday.

Source: Seychelles News Agency

August 26, 2022

Elections2022: MPLA open to dialogue, rules out pacts

Luanda – The secretary of the Political Bureau for Information of MPLA Rui Falcão said on Friday that his party, which won an absolute majority in the general elections, “was open to dialogue” and has no need to “make pacts.

The politician was speaking to the press in Luanda at the end of the meeting of the Central Coordination Structure of the Campaign, chaired by the party’s leader João Lourenço.

MPLA has always been open to dialogue. ” With a qualified majority we negotiate changes to the Constitution, but now we will be better positioned with an absolute majority”.

Absolute majority rules out “pacts

The MPLA spokesman ruled out a “hypothetical pact” with UNITA, the opposition party (…).

“We have an absolute majority. Nowhere in the world a regime pact is made when there is a majority to govern.”

He said the party leader and candidate for the country’s top job, João Lourenço, will not speak until after the release of the final results.

“We will continue to do our job. This was a first reading and the others will follow, immediately after the release of the final results”, the party official has said.

With 97.03% of the votes counted across the country and abroad, CNE said on Thursday the MPLA, which garnered 51.07% of the votes, obtained 124 MPs.

While UNITA (44.05%) got 90 MPs, followed by the PRS, the FNLA and PHA with two seats each.

CASA-CE with 0.75% (46,750) did not get any seat, as did the APN with 0.48% (29,740) and P-NJANGO with 0.42% of the votes (26,268).

Eight candidates run for the country’s top job during the 24 August Elections, which brought together 14.3 million voters, including 22,560 residents abroad, who, for the first time, exercised their right to vote.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

August 26, 2022

Angola’s President Retains His Seat Following a Tight Election

Results from Angola’s election show the ruling People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola or MPLA will maintain its nearly half-century in power by a slim majority.

Angola’s main opposition has vowed to challenge the results of Wednesday’s vote as the country’s ruling party is set to extend its reign for another five years, giving it a total of 52 years in power.

Incumbent President Joao Lourenco of the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola party, known by its Portuguese acronym MPLA, has won a second five-year term in office after garnering 51% of Wednesday’s presidential vote with more than 97% of the votes tallied.

The UNITA opposition has rejected the results, calling them unreliable.

MPLA has been losing support while the opposition support has been growing in past elections.

Borges Nhamirre is a researcher for Institute for Security Studies. He says the government of President Lourenzo must change how it governs.

“This is a clear message that half of the population of Angola don’t support MPLA policies and we have a very big problem in Angola; the winner takes all. So it means no matter how many votes the opposition got from the polls, MPLA will rule alone. So it’s on MPLA now to listen to those people to rule not only for their supporters but to rule for all the Angolans. If that’s not going to happen, then it will be five years of a very difficult government and people contesting.”

The opposition UNITA has complained of a lack of transparency in the electoral process and disagrees with the results — which show they are losing the election.

The party, led by Adalberto Costa Junior, say they are doing their own tallying and are preparing to share their results.

The ruling party’s popularity in this election had dropped by 10 percentage points from the previous election when they got 61% of the votes cast.

The MPLA lost the capital Luanda with more than 60% of the voters casting ballots in favor of the opposition.

Experts say the vote against MPLA in the Luanda province shows the electorate is demanding political change.

Nhamirre says this could herald a tough time for all Angolans.

“I think it will be difficult for them to accept this result and this will be a big challenge to MPLA on how to deal with people… How to convince people who overwhelmingly voted for the opposition that now the MPLA will rule them. I think these will be challenging times.”

The two parties have been rivals since the country gained independence from Portugal in 1975. The two sides fought a civil war for more than 25 years, where hundreds of thousands died.

Critics of MPLA say it has failed to deliver on its promises to fight corruption and uplift people from poverty.

The opposition says it will challenge the result through legal means— and called for calm as the electoral process continues.

However, some experts and even the opposition question whether the courts can overturn the results if they discover irregularities and illegalities in the electoral process.

Aurea Mouzinho is an economist and political commentator based in Luanda. She says the opposition has limited options in its effort to challenge the results.

“Compromising 42% at this stage might not be the best thing UNITA could do for its own credibility. It could cost them in the next election cycle as people may understand as a party that agrees with what MPLA and its institutions fabricate in terms of results instead of pursuing more transparency and legitimate representation of the people’s will.”

The electoral agency has come under criticism from the opposition groups and civil society groups for its lack of transparency up to the election.

UNITA will need to challenge the results at the constitutional court after the electoral commission’s official announcement of the results.

Source: Voice Of America

August 26, 2022

Election 2022: P-NJANGO accepts provisional results

Luanda – P-NJANGO leader Eduardo Jonatão Chingunji, who was among the contending parties for 2022 elections, said Friday that he accepted the provisional results that gave victory to the MPLA.

Speaking to ANGOP, the politician added that “the results of the elections express the people’s will, although he expected more than 0.42 percent of the votes”, adding that “even so, I find the result strange”.

Running for the first time for the country’s top job, “Dinho” Chingunji, 58, justified the bad result in the elections by the fact that his party was legalised, by the Constitutional Court, just a month before the election, but valued “the experience and some popularity gained”.

During the electoral campaign, “Dinho” Chingunji said that he hoped to achieve at least 30 seats in the National Assembly.

Under the article 33, paragraph 4, subparagraph i) of the Law on Political Parties (Law nº22/10, of 3 December) establishes a minimum of 0.5% of votes to avoid extinction.

In its campaign, P-NJANGO focused on the health, education, agriculture and housing sectors, as its governance programme.

P-NJANGO ran for the elections along with MPLA, UNITA, FNLA, APN, PHA, PRS and CASA-CE coalition.

So far, more than 97 percent of the votes have been tabulated, with the MPLA in the lead (51.07 percent), followed by UNITA, with 44.05%.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

August 26, 2022

Turkish Pop Star Jailed Over Joke About Religious Schools

Turkish pop star Gulsen has been arrested on charges of “inciting hatred and enmity” with a joke she made about Turkey’s religious schools, the country’s state-run news agency reported.

The 46-year-old singer and songwriter, whose full name is Gulsen Colakoglu, was taken away from her home in Istanbul for questioning and formally arrested late Thursday. She was then taken to a prison pending trial.

The arrest sparked outrage on social media. Government critics said the move was an effort by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to consolidate support from his religious and conservative base ahead of elections in 10 months.

The charges were based on a joke Gulsen made during an April concert in Istanbul, where she quipped that one of her musicians’ “perversion” stemmed from attending a religious school. A video of the singer’s comment began circulating on social media recently, with a hashtag calling for her arrest.

Gulsen — who previously became a target in Islamic circles due to her revealing stage outfits and for unfurling an LGBTQ flag at a concert — apologized for the offense the joke caused but said her comments were seized on by those wanting to deepen polarization in the country.

During her questioning by court authorities, Gulsen rejected accusations that she incited hatred and enmity, and said she had “endless respect for the values and sensitivities of my country,” the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Her request to be released from custody pending the outcome of a trial was rejected.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of Turkey’s main opposition party, called on Turkey’s judges and prosecutors to release Gulsen.

“Don’t betray the law and justice; release the artist now!” he wrote on Twitter.

The spokesperson for Erdogan’s Justice and Development party, known by its Turkish acronym AKP, appeared however, to defend the decision to arrest the singer, saying “inciting hatred is not an art form.”

“Targeting a segment of society with the allegation of “perversion” and trying to polarize Turkey is a hate crime and a disgrace to humanity,” AKP spokesperson Omer Celik tweeted.

Erdogan and many members of his Islam-based ruling party are graduates of religious schools, which were originally established to train imams. The number of religious schools in Turkey has increased under Erdogan, who has promised to raise a “pious generation.”

Among those calling for Gulsen’s release was Turkish pop star, Tarkan, best known internationally for the song Kiss Kiss.

“Our legal system, which turns a blind eye to corruption, thieves, those who break the law and massacre nature, those who kill animals and those who use religion to polarize society through their bigoted ideas — has arrested Gulsen in one whack,” Tarkan said in a statement posted on Twitter.

Source: Voice of America

August 26, 2022

Few in US Receive Full Monkeypox Vaccine Regimen

The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday that very few people in the United States have received a full series of monkeypox vaccinations.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the large majority of Americans who received a first dose of the vaccine have yet to get their second dose, despite being eligible.

She told a White House briefing Friday that nearly 97% of the inoculations administered so far have been first doses.

Walensky said that while the vaccine was initially hard to get, supplies have now increased.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed for the vaccine to be injected in smaller doses to help stretch supplies.

The Biden administration says it has shipped enough vaccines to jurisdictions around the United States for at least 1.6 million doses.

CDC data show that about 10% of monkeypox vaccine doses have been given to Black people despite the fact that they account for one-third of U.S. cases.

The rate was compiled from 17 U.S. states and two cities.

Walensky said the CDC has taken measures to make the vaccine more accessible to Blacks and other minorities. She said vaccines and educational materials will be available at two upcoming events — Atlanta’s Black Pride festival and New Orleans’ Southern Decadence.

Walensky said the agency is starting to roll out such pilot projects and that “they are working.”

Most cases of monkeypox in the United States have occurred in gay men, but health officials have stressed that anyone can catch the virus.

More than 16,000 people have been infected with the virus in the United States, more than in any other country.

Walensky noted that the spread of the virus is falling in several major U.S. cities.

“We’re watching this with cautious optimism, and really hopeful that many of our harm-reduction messages and our vaccines are getting out there and working,” she said.

Across the United States, cases of monkeypox are still increasing. However, officials say the pace of the outbreak appears to be slowing.

On Thursday, the World Health Organization said global cases of monkeypox dropped 21% in the past week.

The WHO said cases appeared to be slowing in Europe but warned that infections in the Americas were on “a continuing steep rise.”

“In Latin America in particular, insufficient awareness or public health measures are combining with a lack of access to vaccines to fan the flames of the outbreak,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press briefing.

Monkeypox has been endemic in parts of Africa for decades, but since May, cases have been reported around the world.

The virus is typically spread by skin-to-skin contact with an infected person’s lesions. It can also be spread through contact with an infected person’s clothing or sheets.

Source: Voice of America

August 26, 2022

States replicate successful low-cost hypertension solution model in over 80 PHC centres

Abuja, 26 August, 2022 – When 38-year-old man Mr Hassan Olusoji, residing at Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, was diagnosed with high blood pressure (HBP) at a Primary Health Care Centre (PHC), in Italapo, in same state, he was surprised, he never expected to have the disease.

“I never thought I had high blood pressure because I believed it’s a disease associated with the elderly. On getting to the PHC, I was diagnosed with HBP and was placed on treatment.

I get my medication from the PHC at a subsidized price, and this makes it easier for me to manage my condition at every visit, my blood pressure is checked, I receive counselling on what to eat, things to do and stop doing,” he said.

Mr Olusoji had gone seeking medical attention at the PHC because he was experiencing periodic headaches, difficulty in breathing and feeling tired frequently after walking a short distance.

Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease globally and a leading cause of premature death for persons with Noncommunicable Diseases. However, low and middle-income countries bear a great deal of this burden.

In Nigeria, an estimated 1 in 3 adults is hypertensive. Termed a silent killer, almost half of the population with the disease are not aware of this condition.

Positive signs

In a bid to curb the mortality rate of the disease in Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) with funding from Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL), rolled out the National Hypertension Control Initiative (NHCI). The initiative aims at strengthening the health system for the prevention and control of hypertension at the lower levels of care.

The initiative provides hypertension screening services, enrollment to care and offers treatment to persons who fall within the treatment criteria.

Since its launch in November 2020, a total of 22,753 persons have been diagnosed and 16,445 enrolled on care. There are currently 104 PHC facilities offering this service in both Kano and Ogun states.

Saving lives

Dr Seyi Adu, the Non-Communicable Disease (NCDs) Coordinator in Ogun state, attributed the the positive outcome to extensive community screening in rural communities.

The health facilities conduct community outreaches within their respective catchment areas, especially at public places such as Churches, Mosques, and community festivals, including commemorations of Health Days. With this strategy alone, the teams screened over 5000 people and those with elevated blood pressure are subsequently connected to the NHCI implementing facilities nearest to them.

Likewise, Dr Sharif Yahaya Musa, the DMS- Kano State PHC Development Board (SPHCDB), ascribed the success in the state to the supportive supervision and clinical mentoring of the project in the implementing 52 PHCs.

“In Kano, we started with 12 PHCs, with additional 40 health facilities added for hypertension diagnosis and treatment and conducted training for 80 healthcare workers on NHCI activities.

We also trained 52 PHCs District Health Information Systems (DHIS) to document the data generated at the health facilities where the initiative is implemented”, he said.

Partnership for success

Uncontrolled blood pressure is one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), such as heart attacks and stroke and globally it is the most common cause of death and disease.

Although Nigeria has no current hypertension prevalence data, a similar systematic review with a meta-analysis conducted by the FMOH in collaboration with WHO in 2018 put the prevalence rate of hypertension at 31.2% and hypertensive heart disease at 27% in the country.

The Director of Public Health Department FMOH, Dr Alex Okoh, appreciating the WHO and RTSL at a recent NHCI review meeting said, “ we are indeed proud of the tremendous progress we have made so far and have now commenced the scaling up of the project in both states from the initial 12 PHC centres per state to 80 PHC centres per state.”

He said the strengthening of the PHC is in tandem with the National Multi-Sectoral Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (2019 – 2025) which has various targets, one of which is to achieve at least 25% relative reduction in the prevalence of raised blood pressure in the country.

Meanwhile, the Director, Global Hypertension Control, at Resolve to Save Lives, Dr Andrew Moran, was optimistic about the success, as he said since it was launched in 2020, over 14 000 people with hypertension under the initiative.

He said lots of the PHCs in Nigeria have no services for NCDs and therefore, the initiative serves as an entry point to build the health system toward NCDs.We hope that this serves as a model for scaling up to other states in the country.

Furthermore, the WHO Country Representative, Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo noted that this initiative is a laudable one as it has and will pave way for other interventions, especially at the lower levels of care. WHO supported the development of the 2019-2025 National NCDs Multisectoral Action Plan which provides the road map for the country toward the prevention and control of NCDs.

Modifiable factors for the prevention of hypertension include reduction of salt intake, being physically active, stop tobacco use, reducing alcohol consumption, and increasing intake of fruits and vegetables.

Source: World Health Organization. Africa

August 26, 2022

WHO pledges support to Kano for improved health indices amidst demographic related challenges

Kano, 26 August, 2022 – The WHO Country Representative, (WR) Dr Walter K. Malumbo, has given Kano State, a pat on the back for historic role in Polio Eradication and presently, efforts in ramping up Covid-19 vaccination in the State.

Speaking during an interactive session with the Governor at the Government House, on 24 August 2022, WR said, “The government and traditional institutions in Kano applied unorthodox strategies to address vaccine hesitancy and create demand for polio vaccines which led the eradication of the depilating disease.

He further commended Kano state government’s efforts towards providing sustainable health care financing mechanism through the establishment of the Kano state Health Trust Fund and Kano Contributory Health management Agency. “These great initiatives in addition to the effective utilization of Basic Healthcare Provision Funds (BHCPF) will indeed provide additional funding streams which will facilitate the state’s progress towards achieving universal health coverage”, said the WR.

Going down history lane, Dr Mulombo noted that when polio eradication initiative suffered major setbacks in 2003 and 2007 due to media campaigns, religious and sociocultural beliefs among others, Kano was the epicenter of the paralyzing disease.

Presently the WR noted that, “Sometime in the past Kano state was number 34 in COVID-19 vaccination exercise. But because of your commitment Your Excellency, Kano is now number 3 in the exercise. A tremendous achievement indeed.”

He revealed that some of the best practices and lessons learnt from Kano towards polio eradication and currently Covid-19 vaccination are being replicated in other States; to also to be employed for future public health interventions.

Kano State is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the northern region of the country. According to the national census done in 2006 and Governor Ganduje, Kano State is the most populous in Nigeria. The WR was in Kano to advocate for a stronger collaboration between WHO and Kano state government in planning and implementation of priority interventions towards achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

During the visit, Governor Abudullahi Umar Ganduje appreciated WHO for strengthening health institutions and human resource development in the state and the country in general.

He assured the WR that the gains of polio eradication would be sustained as, ” our capacity is still intact. And we are directing same to other health areas. We are extremely happy about that.”

Governor Ganduje urged that, “While we are thanking you for all your efforts, we are still battling with this issue of malnutrition. Because of the high cost of dealing with this issue, we are now looking inward to make use of our local supplements.”

“We are therefore requesting partnership in this area of malnutrition. We also need partnership in public laboratory,” the governor said.

While in Kano, the WR also visited the Emir, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero at the ancient Place.

During their dialogue, Dr Mulombo also appreciated the paramount ruler for his invaluable contribution to polio eradication and most recently, support for covid-19 vaccination, making Kano one of the best performing in covid-19 vaccination.

Speaking, the monarch assured that, as the custodians of society, the onus is on them to enlighten their subjects on the importance of health. He added that in every community, Traditional leaders play a prominent role in mobilization for healthier population.

The WR also attended the WHO Northwest Zonal meeting in Kano and urged colleagues to do things differently by repositioning the State offices in the context of polio transition, to provide more integrated support to the States, based on peculiarities and State Strategic Health Development Plans and the WHO Nigeria CCSIII. The goal is to ensure health for all.

Source: World Health Organization. Africa

August 26, 2022

Nigeria reaches vulnerable population with client-centred strategies for control of TB and COVID-19

Abuja, 26 August, 2022 – On a recent weekday, when 25-year-old John Odido left his home at Gishiri Village, Abuja, to his barbing shop in the same community, he had no plan to conduct any medical test or get his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Like most young people in the community, Mr Odido had been procrastinating, believing there was no urgency to receive the vaccination due to the decline in reported COVID-19 infection cases in Nigeria.

However, with convincing information from the mobilization team of the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP) during the National Tuberculosis (TB) Testing Week community outreach, with the theme: “Check Am O”, Mr Odido had a change of heart.

The outreach was organized by NTBLCP in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners to increase TB case notification in the country while leveraging the services to detect Tuberculosis (TB), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV/AIDs) and COVID-19 cases and provide the COVID-19 vaccine to the people. The campaigns were conducted during the period of 1-5 August in many of the states across the federation.

Mr Odido joined the queue of people waiting to conduct TB, HIV and COVID-19 tests and returned to receive his results after two hours. The results of all his tests came out negative. Thereafter, he received his first jab of the COVID-19 vaccine.

“I received the COVID-19 vaccine because I know COVID-19 is still around. It is convenient to receive it here as it has saved me from making the trip to our health centre, which is far from my house. I went to convince my friends to take the tests and receive COVID-19, but some are declining, and because of them, I know I have to continue observing all the infection prevention and control measures,” he said.

The selection of Gishiri settlement as the outreach post was based on data review of the burden of TB, and the population density of the area which revealed that some diagnosed TB patients come from this community within the metropolis of the Federal Capital Territory.

For Victoria David, a 40-year-old housewife and mother of six, the TB testing brought to her vicinity motivated her to come out for testing as it also saved her from making a trip to the health care centre.

Mrs David said she had been having bouts of cough and decided to check it out.

“I had treated for TB about two years ago. But I started coughing again early this year, and immediately I heard they were conducting TB test, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity,” she said

Meanwhile, Grace Daniel, a 23-year-old student and trader, also took advantage of the outreach to receive her second COVID-19 jab.

She was also lending her voice to convince her family members, friends, and other youths about the need to take the COVID-19 vaccination without further delay.

Ms Daniel said she had received the first shot last year but did not complete it because she had to travel to school.

“I kept procrastinating on receiving the second dose, but now that they are here, I have received it,” she said.

Optimizing opportunities

TB and COVID-19 are both infectious diseases that attack primarily the lungs and have similar symptoms such as cough, fever and difficulty in breathing. TB, however, has a longer incubation period with slower onset of disease.

Both diseases have high fatality rates globally, with TB being the highest cause of death from a single infectious disease prior to COVID 19 pandemic, and Nigeria ranks sixth among the 30 high-burden countries in the world and first in Africa.

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 virus has infected 262 664 people with 3147 deaths in Nigeria from the onset of the pandemic.

To mitigate the spread of both diseases in the country, the National Coordinator, National

Tuberculosis, Buruli Ulcer and Leprosy Control Program (NTBLCP), Dr Chukwuemeka Anyike, said integrating the services would strengthen the health system to detect and respond to the diseases while putting the patient at the centre of health care service delivery.

We are taking advantage of the TB testing week currently underway to find as many missing TB cases as possible in the country. We are also using the opportunity to test for COVID-19 and HIV and provide the COVID-19 vaccination.

“Essentially, the campaign is leveraging the meagre available resources to achieve the global push for integrated health services, and we hope that at the end of the year, we will record a higher TB case notification than last year,” he said.

In 2021, Nigeria notified 207,785 TB cases, 50% higher compared to 138,591 cases notified in 2020.

Vital partnership

Commending the government for the initiative, the village head, Chief Bala Akusu Nbwaha, said he was impressed with the turnout of the people in the community.

“We sensitize the people about the importance of checking for TB and COVID-19 as well as receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. My cabinet members and I, have received the COVID-19 vaccination and that is why we are encouraging others to do so, he said.

During the campaign in the community, 127 people were screened for TB and 19 tested for COVID-19. Of which 44 presumptive TB were identified. For further confirmation, sputum samples were collected from 43 persons and 4 were positive. Meanwhile, 64 people received the COVID-19 vaccination. Of which 57 received the first shot.

Given that eliminating TB and achieving herd immunity against COVID-19 are top government priorities in Nigeria, Dr Enang Oyama, WHO technical officer, said WHO and its partners have continued to support the Government of Nigeria to leverage the COVID-19 response to drive a joint TB/COVID-19 bidirectional screening and vaccination campaign to improve TB case finding.

He said with the similarities between both diseases an innovative approach was adopted to achieve maximum optimization of funds and human resources.

Dr Oyama emphasized that active TB case finding is vital in combatting the scourge of the disease as over 300 000 cases are estimated to be missed annually.

“Furthermore, WHO will continue to support the government at all levels to ensure that the Covid-19 response programme takes advantage of the extensive structures and human resource capacity available in the TB control programme to improve the diagnosis and management of cases at the community level,” he said.

Source: World Health Organization. Africa