Plateau Govt Reiterates Commitment To Fighting Tuberculosis

Plateau State government has reiterated its commitment to reducing the scourge of infectious diseases, like tuberculosis, to the barest minimum.

The state commissioner for health, Dr Cletus Shurkuk, said that as part of the state government’s commitment to fighting tuberculosis and other infectious diseases, the state government has established a new central drug store to warehouse all essential medications for malaria control and infectious diseases including those for tuberculosis patients.

He stated this when a delegation from Kaneng Rwang Pam Foundation for Education and Migration Awareness KRP FEMA, led by the executive director, Kaneng Rwang Pam, paid him an advocacy visit as part of the campaign to eradicate tuberculosis in the state.

According to him, some agencies are partnering with the state government in the health sector, including the recent donation of motorcycles. He said this will improve access to unreachable remote communities, especially in contact tracing for TB and other infectious diseases.

The commissioner reiterated his support for the advocacy, particularly in ensuring the release of funds and the overall success of TB programmes in the state.

Meanwhile, the KRP FEMA executive director briefed the commissioner on the USAID project, the Northern Nexus Cluster, and the organisations that constitute the cluster.

She explained the purpose of the advocacy visit, highlighting key advocacy tasks, which include the need for prompt release of funds allocated for TB programmes, advocating for private sector engagement in funding TB initiatives within the state and renovation of Directly Observed Treatment (DOT) centres to enhance TB treatment.

She also advocated for providing nutrition packages to support TB patients during treatment.

The team also paid an advocacy visit to the Plateau State TB Programme Manager, Dr Jublick Maxwell.

Jublick Maxwell assured the team of his office’s full support for their advocacy efforts, emphasising the benefits these initiatives would bring to the state.