Lawyers Warn Against Stigmatising TB Patients

A non-governmental organisation (NGO), Lawyers Alert, has warned institutions and organisations in the habits of discriminating and stigmatising persons infected by tuberculosis to desist or face legal action.

The group’s senior legal officer, Solumto-Chukwu Ozobulu, who stated this in an interview with LEADERSHIP said the organisation is working with a network of lawyers to ensure that the human rights of tuberculosis patients are being protected in their places of work, schools, places of worships and within their environment.

Ozobulu said Lawyers Alert is a non-profit organisation that protects the rights of all vulnerable persons in the society irrespective of tribe, religion, and political affiliation, which also includes the rights of persons afflicted by tuberculosis.

According to her, “once we have a reported case of human rights violation against TB persons, we will institute a strategic impact legislation for their protection.”

She said, “We have been providing free legal services on all persons affected with TB whose right have been fringed upon, especially their rights to education, employment among others as long as it is human rights inclined, Lawyers Alert is there to provide free legal services for them.

“We at Lawyers Alert are documenting all these violations of rights against persons affected by Tuberculosis to enable us use them as evidence when we carryout advocacy visit to the legislatures to seek for legal backing to protect TB patients just as it was done in the case of HIV/AIDs patients which has drastically reduced discrimination against them.”

She however lamented a situation where most victims of human rights violation, prefer out-of-court settlement, adding that in such cases, “what we can do is to document the violation.”