Tuberculosis detection project launched
A new tuberculosis (TB) detection project has been launched in the Western Region by the Medical Health Division of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
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Christened the TB REACH Project, it is aimed at increasing tuberculosis detection among refugees and host communities, miners and mining communities by the use of a mobile diagnostic van installed with GeneXpert technology.
Other communities targeted by the project are vulnerable border and urban communities
The objective of the project is to contribute to the efforts of the National Tuberculosis Control Programme to reduce TB morbidity and mortality among vulnerable urban communities, miners and mining communities, refugees and refugee host communities, as well as border communities in the region.
The project, which will run for 15 months, aims at reaching 317,000 individuals in 75,000 households, representing about 30.3 per cent of the evaluation population.
It is to be implemented in five districts in the Western Region, namely the Sekondi/Takoradi metropolis, the Tarkwa/Nsuaem municipality and the Prestea/Huni Valley, Ellembelle and Jomoro districts.
A total of 105 volunteers are expected to support the project, working for varying durations. Each volunteer is expected to reach at least 20 households per day.
The Deputy Western Regional Minister, Mr Alfred Ekow Gyan, who launched the project in Takoradi, said the choice of the region for the project was good, since it was cosmopolitan and multicultural.
He said sharing a border with Cote d’Ivoire meant that the Western Region was often the first port of call for migrants from that country.
He said the region hosted two of the five refugee camps in the country and that cross-border movement of people and goods in the Jomoro District added to the complexity of the region.
He added that the government was committed to achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on TB, particularly Goal 6 — Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases, adding that tuberculosis, one of the oldest and stigmatised diseases, was no exception.
“Due to the nature of the disease, stigmatisation and mode of spread, it stands to reason that it should be the focus of a concerted effort to detect it early, halt its spread and minimise its devastating effects on individuals and families,” Mr Gyan added.
The Chief of Mission of the IOM, Ms Dyane Epstein, said the IOM had been implementing migration health-related programmes in West and Central Africa on behalf of various governments.
She said health services were provided for migrants supported under the main refugee resettlement programmes and recalled that in 2011 the IOM played a significant role in the Ghana government and the United Nations joint emergency response plan for the Cote d’Ivoire crisis.
She emphasised that the IOM was committed to collaborating with the government of Ghana to ensure that migration was managed in a humane and orderly manner that would benefit both the migrants and the society.
The National TB Control Programme Manager, Dr Frank Adae Bonsu, said the choice of the Western Region for the project was strategic, as many people were going to the region as a result of the oil discovery.
He noted that if the health service did not prepare well, it would be overwhelmed.
He urged all health workers to work in partnership with the IOM towards the successful implementation of the project.
Story: Kwame Asiedu Marfo