Rise Up Now For Tuberculosis; It’s Time To End Tuberculosis
His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo
President of the Republic of Ghana
Accra, Ghana
Dear President Nana Akufo-Addo,
On 24 March, the world will come together in commemoration of World TB Day.
As civil society and communities working towards a TB-free Ghana, we acknowledge that our country has made great strides towards ending TB. We, however, are concerned that so many of us continue to get infected and die of this preventable and curable disease.
The situation is complicated by the risks presented by COVID-19 on our health system and on our economy. It’s indeed time to stand in solidarity and with resilience in the fight against these two infectious and deadly diseases.
We applaud your government for participating in the United Nations High-Level Meeting (UNHLM) on Tuberculosis in September 2018. Thank you for joining other UN member states in making strong commitments. As you know, during the meeting, the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the first-ever United Nations High-Level Meeting on TB. This was a historic moment for the world and for our country. The adoption of the commitments by the General Assembly officially marked the endorsement by all Member States of the UN to:
- Scale up access to TB preventive therapy & treatment
- Ensure sufficient & sustainable financing including for research
- Promote an equitable, rights-based & people-centered TB response
- Promote an end to stigma & discrimination of TB patients
- Build accountability
- Increase investments for TB research and development
Your Excellency, as we commemorate World TB day this year, we call for your courageous leadership towards prioritizing the delivery of the UNHLM targets and TB accountability; as we remain ready and determined to rally behind you in achieving one of the Big Four Agenda, Universal Health Coverage. Specifically, we call upon your government to urgently:
- Close Ghana’s TB program funding gap of 40%
- Accelerate TB response towards reaching the UN High-Level Meeting (UNHLM) targets of 2022
- Pay special attention to resources allocated to TB preventive treatment which prevents TB infection among the most vulnerable populations who include children under five, persons living with HIV and health care workers.
We, Civil Society Organizations are behind you are looking forward to work with you to realize a Ghana free of TB.
Yours Faithfully,
GFAN Ghana
The Global Fund Advocates Network (GFAN Africa) unites voices and efforts from all over Africa to support successful replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and mobilizes countries to increase their allocation of domestic resources for health to ensure sustainable healthcare financing. GFAN Africa is hosted by WACI Health, in Nairobi, Kenya