Meeting of national goodwill ambassadors against tuberculosis
09 December, 2011
Khartoum, (sudanow.info.sd) - Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that spreads from person to person through the air. A person with untreated TB can infect 10–15 people in a single year by coughing near them.
TB can affect any part of the body, but most often it attacks the lungs. The overwhelming majority of people with TB can be cured by administering a six-month course of drugs costing as little as US$ 25. Untreated, the disease is often lethal.
Anyone can get TB, but the disease is strongly linked to poverty and poor living conditions, often striking vulnerable and marginalized groups.
In wealthy countries many people tend to think of TB as a disease of the past – the illness that felled opera heroines and prompted long stays in sanatoria. In reality, TB is still very much a threat and continues to devastate much of the developing world, causing widespread suffering and death. The disease still takes the lives of three people every minute.
Much progress has been made against TB in the past decade, but many obstacles to conquering the disease remain; most prominently, lack of political will and funding, lack of awareness in communities most affected by the disease and stigma.
Goodwill Ambassadors against tuberculosis
Celebrities can make a difference. Their voices can activate the public to push politicians and other decision makers to fund TB programmes.
The Stop TB Partnership and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has invited celebrities who have been lending their image to the fight against TB to share their own experiences and provide input on the way forward.
On 5 December 2011, nine celebrities fromGeorgia, Ghana, Jordan, Nepal, Pakistan, Peru, Sudan, and South Africa have participated in a hands-on workshop, at WHO in Geneva, aimed at helping frame an initiative to enhance the impact of national TB ambassadors. On the same day, a reception was organized to provide an opportunity for the media and representatives from international organizations to meet the Goodwill Ambassadors.
On 6 December 2011 the group of celebrities briefed members of the Regional Government of Lombardy in Milan about the urgent need for continued financial support for the global fight against the disease. Their journey continued to Turin where they visited a TB treatment programme - part of the Impact project - which is run by the NGO Gruppo Abele with close links to the Italian Red Cross and seeks to increase TB and HIV testing for migrant drug users.
The Stop TB Partnership's work with Goodwill Ambassadors is supported by the Lilly MDR-TB Partnership. This public-private initiative mobilizes over 25 partners on five continents to tackle the scourge of TB and MDR-TB.
During their stay in Geneva, the group of celebrities was hosted by the Grand Hotel Kempinski Geneva. Kempinski Hotels has been committed to combating TB since 2008 through its involvement in the Stop TB Partnership.
The IFRC is the world's largest volunteer-based humanitarian network, reaching 150 million people each year through its 186 member National Societies.
WHO provides leadership in strategic and technical aspects of TB care and control worldwide in order to reverse the epidemic and eventually eliminate TB. It supports the work of the Stop TB Ambassadors and the Stop TB Ambassador programme through its global network of experts and support staff located in WHO country and regional offices, and at its headquarters.
ABOUT THE STOP TB PARTNERSHIP
The Stop TB Partnership is leading the way to a world without TB, a disease that is curable but still kills three people every minute. Founded in 2001, the Partnership's mission is to serve every person who is vulnerable to TB and ensure that high-quality treatment is available to all who need it. Our role is to ensure a bold vision for addressing TB and to coordinate and catalyse global efforts towards elimination of the disease.
Together our nearly 1000 partners are a collective force that is transforming the fight against TB in more than 100 countries. They include the World Health Organization – which hosts the partnership secretariat and is the major partner – government programmes, technical partners, research and funding agencies, NGOs, civil society and community groups and private sector. Our Global Plan to Stop TB (2011-2015) sets forth a roadmap for halving TB prevalence and deaths compared with 1990 levels by 2015.
BIOGRAPHIES
Awad Ibrahim Awad / Sudan / TV presenter
Dr Awad Ibrahim Awad is a well known Sudanese broadcaster, anchor and presenter. He has been working on TB care in Sudan (North) with the National TB Program and Sudan Partnership to Stop TB. He also is chair of Stop TB Partnership Sudan and has made major contributions by way of his networking and partnering skills acquired after years of being in the media industry and owning his own television channel. He has been very successful in generating support for TB care in both the private and public sectors. Dr. Awad has also effectively utilized his connections in the media industry for dissemination of awareness on TB in Sudan.
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