On 22 March 2018, Ghana joined the rest of the world in commemorating 2018 World TB Day whose theme was "Wanted, Leaders for a TB-Free Ghana.‟ The national launch took place at Mantse Agbona, in James Town- Accra in the Greater Accra Region.

Present at the function were Madam Tina Mensah, Honourable Deputy Minister of Health, Madam Elizabeth Tawiah Sackey, Honourable Deputy Regional Minister, Dr Owen Kaluwa, World Health Organization Representative (WR), Dr Nsiah-Asare, Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Frank Bonsu Programme Manager, National TB Control Programme, Directors from Ghana Health Service and traditional leaders among others.

In her welcome address, Hon Elizabeth Sackey indicated that the theme for this year’s celebration was appropriate and timely. “This is a call for Government to take action to end TB” she said.

The Deputy Regional Minister reiterated the need for all stakeholders to rally behind Government and the TB Control Programme to reduce the current TB burden in Ghana.

In the keynote address, delivered on his behalf by the Honourable Deputy Minister of Health, Madam Tina Mensah, the Minister of Health Dr Kwaku-Agyeman Manu advocated for the establishment of a multi-sectoral response among other things for effective TB Control in Ghana. “Globally, political and financial commitment holds TB control back. The environment, food security, poverty and lack of social protection are outside the scope of the health sector but key to Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS control” he said. The Minister of Health assured that Ghana will not be left behind as the rest of the world had moved beyond rhetoric’s.

Delivering a brief statement, Dr Owen Kaluwa, World Health Organization (WHO) representative to Ghana, said that a TB-free world would only be achieved through leaders who championed efforts to end TB at local level. He mentioned that at the “First Ministerial Conference on Ending TB” in Moscow in November 2017, 75 ministers from the African Region committed to end TB and member states of the African Union finalized a Common African Position on TB (CAP-TB) on the sidelines of that historic conference.

“Leaders have tremendous influence to build strong partnerships and commitment to end the TB epidemic at every level. I therefore call on the government, parliamentarians and policy-makers to drive ambitious plans that will accelerate TB control at national level” Dr Kaluwa added.

This year’s celebration witnessed a commitment from the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA) to collaborate with the TB Control Programme on the fight against TB. Speaking at the function, the GJA President in the person of Dr Affail Monney and urged all journalists to support the fight in order to ensure that the future generation witnesses the end of TB. He made a special appeal to journalists to sharpen their focus on stigmatization which is a real setback to TB control in Ghana.

Dr Frank Bonsu, the Programme Manager of the National TB Control Programme (NTCP), sounded the note of caution, in his overview of TB control in Ghana that the gains achieved over the years could be eroded if some pragmatic measures are not put in place to sustain these gains.

The current fear, he said arises from the fact that TB case notification have been declining in the last four years, saying in 2017 the country recorded 14,550 new cases, which was down from the 2013 new notified cases from 15,606.

There was also a decline in TB reported cases in all regions with the exception of Western, Upper East and Brong Ahafo regions, however, Greater Accra, Ashanti, Eastern and Western, continued to record exceptionally high number of cases.

According to him, the expected annual number of reported TB cases countrywide was 44,000 on the average, but the national treatment success average was 85.2 per cent, which fell short of the GHS’s ambitious set target of 90 per cent.

Dr Bonsu said financing mechanisms to support treatment adherence by patients were no longer available, leading to poor treatment supervision and ultimately increases in drug resistant TB, saying the number of reported drug resistant cases had gone up such that in 2017, 198 cases were reported compared to 30 in 2013.

The consequence, he said was that Ghana had recorded its first case of Extensively Drug-Resistant TB (XDR TB), which was a rare type of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis that is resistant to isoniazid and rifampin, plus any fluoroquinolone and at least one of three injectable second-line drugs.

This he said was largely due to inadequate support and care to the patient, and called for immediate action to prevent further spread of this type of the disease.

According to him the amazing and remarkable, enthusiasm, passion and drive by health care providers working in TB control, was however not palpable any more, and coincidentally, the energy of optimism in his addresses during World TB Days in the last four years had been low as a result.

Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, said there was no doubt that GHS had made tremendous progress and significant gains and that over the last decade huge investment in human, material and equipment, as well as capacity has been developed to reduce the spread of the disease.

He said the GHS had also been applauded for its capacity to adopt and deploy countrywide, new technologies and tools, citing that in 2018, the Service would be rolling its first ever child friendly TB new paediatric formulation for treating TB in children, and newer shorter treatment regimen for Multi drug resistant TB under the NTCP.

He said in line with GHS’s new Vision to use lCT, the TB Control Programme has initiated and deployed CAD4 software packages, and had also acquired two mobile X-ray screening Vans, dubbed “the lungs” to support control activities.

This, he said had brought some relief to TB mobile screening teams, as the software serves to meet their basic needs in the absence of trained radiologist.

Dr Nsiah Asare said the Service was also working closely with all stakeholders and partners to address the shortfall in radiographers in the system whose support services were needed to enable the country attain its case detection target, which was currently low.

The GHS had further requested that access to X-ray screening services be made available for screening all first year Senior High School students, and invited all those with persistent cough to come forward and be tested, giving the assurance that TB treatment would continue to be free in all government facilities.

He acknowledged the leadership role of Nana Ahunabobirim Prah Agyensaim Vl, the National TB Ambassador, the Ghana Journalists Association and other partners, and called on all traditional and community leaders, as well as Civil Society Organisations and all Ghanaians to play supporting roles in eradicating TB by 2030.

On 22 March 2018, Ghana joined the rest of the world in commemorating 2018 World TB Day whose theme was "Wanted, Leaders for a TB-Free Ghana.‟ The national launch took place at Mantse Agbona, in James Town- Accra in the Greater Accra Region.

Present at the function were Madam Tina Mensah, Honourable Deputy Minister of Health, Madam Elizabeth Tawiah Sackey, Honourable Deputy Regional Minister, Dr Owen Kaluwa, World Health Organization Representative (WR), Dr Nsiah-Asare, Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Frank Bonsu Programme Manager, National TB Control Programme, Directors from Ghana Health Service and traditional leaders among others.

In her welcome address, Hon Elizabeth Sackey indicated that the theme for this year’s celebration was appropriate and timely.  “This is a call for Government to take action to end TB” she said.

The Deputy Regional Minister reiterated the need for all stakeholders to rally behind Government and the TB Control Programme to reduce the current TB burden in Ghana.

In the keynote address, delivered on his behalf by the Honourable Deputy Minister of Health, Madam Tina Mensah, the Minister of Health Dr Kwaku-Agyeman Manu advocated for the establishment of a multi-sectoral response among other things for effective TB Control in Ghana.  “Globally, political and financial commitment holds TB control back.  The environment, food security, poverty and lack of social protection are outside the scope of the health sector but key to Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS control” he said.  The Minister of Health assured that Ghana will not be left behind as the rest of the world had moved beyond rhetoric’s. 

Delivering a brief statement, Dr Owen Kaluwa, World Health Organization (WHO) representative to Ghana, said that a TB-free world would only be achieved through leaders who championed efforts to end TB at local level. He mentioned that at the “First Ministerial Conference on Ending TB” in Moscow in November 2017, 75 ministers from the African Region committed to end TB and member states of the African Union finalized a Common African Position on TB (CAP-TB) on the sidelines of that historic conference.

“Leaders have tremendous influence to build strong partnerships and commitment to end the TB epidemic at every level. I therefore call on the government, parliamentarians and policy-makers to drive ambitious plans that will accelerate TB control at national level” Dr Kaluwa added. 

This year’s celebration witnessed a commitment from the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA) to collaborate with the TB Control Programme on the fight against TB.  Speaking at the function, the GJA President in the person of Dr Affail Monney and urged all journalists to support the fight in order to ensure that the future generation witnesses the end of TB.  He made a special appeal to journalists to sharpen their focus on stigmatization which is a real setback to TB control in Ghana. 

Dr Frank Bonsu, the Programme Manager of the National TB Control Programme (NTCP), sounded the note of caution, in his overview of TB control in Ghana that the gains achieved over the years could be eroded if some pragmatic measures are not put in place to sustain these gains.

The current fear, he said arises from the fact that TB case notification have been declining in the last four years, saying in 2017 the country recorded 14,550 new cases, which was down from the 2013 new notified cases from 15,606.

There was also a decline in TB reported cases in all regions with the exception of Western, Upper East and Brong Ahafo regions, however, Greater Accra, Ashanti, Eastern and Western, continued to record exceptionally high number of cases.

According to him, the expected annual number of reported TB cases countrywide was 44,000 on the average, but the national treatment success average was 85.2 per cent, which fell short of the GHS’s ambitious set target of 90 per cent.

Dr Bonsu said financing mechanisms to support treatment adherence by patients were no longer available, leading to poor treatment supervision and ultimately increases in drug resistant TB, saying the number of reported drug resistant cases had gone up such that in 2017, 198 cases were reported compared to 30 in 2013.

The consequence, he said was that Ghana had recorded its first case of Extensively Drug-Resistant TB (XDR TB), which was a rare type of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis that is resistant to isoniazid and rifampin, plus any fluoroquinolone and at least one of three injectable second-line drugs.

This he said was largely due to inadequate support and care to the patient, and called for immediate action to prevent further spread of this type of the disease.

According to him the amazing and remarkable, enthusiasm, passion and drive by health care providers working in TB control, was however not palpable any more, and coincidentally, the energy of optimism in his addresses during World TB Days in the last four years had been low as a result.

Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, said there was no doubt that GHS had made tremendous progress and significant gains and that over the last decade huge investment in human, material and equipment, as well as capacity has been developed to reduce the spread of the disease.

He said the GHS had also been applauded for its capacity to adopt and deploy countrywide, new technologies and tools, citing that in 2018, the Service would be rolling its first ever child friendly TB new paediatric formulation for treating TB in children, and newer shorter treatment regimen for Multi drug resistant TB under the NTCP.

He said in line with GHS’s new Vision to use lCT, the TB Control Programme had initiated and deployed CAD4 software packages, and had also acquired two mobile X-ray screening Vans, dubbed “the lungs” to support control activities.

This, he said had brought some relief to TB mobile screening teams, as the software serves to meet their basic needs in the absence of trained radiologist.

Dr Nsiah Asare said the Service was also working closely with all stakeholders and partners to address the shortfall in radiographers in the system whose support services were needed to enable the country attain its case detection target, which was currently low.

The GHS had further requested that access to X-ray screening services be made available for screening all first year Senior High School students, and invited all those with persistent cough to come forward and be tested, giving the assurance that TB treatment would continue to be free in all government facilities.

He acknowledged the leadership role of Nana Ahunabobirim Prah Agyensaim Vl, the National TB Ambassador, the Ghana Journalists Association and other partners, and called on all traditional and community leaders, as well as Civil Society Organisations and all Ghanaians to play supporting roles in eradicating TB by 2030.