By Precious Oham
The Ekiti State Advocacy Team working on the Global Fund C-19RM/RSSH Grant has called on the government to intervene in the eradication of Tuberculosis in the state.
The group made the call during an Advocacy visit to the Ekiti State Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control, TBLC Oba Adejugbe Hospital Ado-Ekiti, on Monday.
The Ekiti State Coordinator, of TB Network, Dr. Taiwo Benson said the Advocacy visit is to find out why Ekiti State is not participating in the National TB Testing Week and ways the civil society can support it.
In his response, the State Programme Manager, TBLC, Orojo Adebayo, revealed that the state is not carrying out a community outreach program for the week but limits their activity to the existing structures within the health facilities [OPD, Child Welfare Clinics, ANC and visits to the correctional center due to lack of fund.
According to him, the lack of supporting TB partners to fund Community TB care and Private sector interventions in the state is affecting the case-finding activity and other TB services.
He said the state is the only state in the southwest without a supporting partner for either community or PPM interventions, and that most of the cases reported were gotten through passive case finding from health facilities.
“These are the challenges we are passing through in the health sector in managing patients, especially without support for administration and interventions.
“He promised that If we can get funds, they will focus on outreach and awareness campaign in Ado-Ekiti followed by Ikere-Ekiti LGA.”