Ghana recorded 19,000 tuberculosis cases in 2023, an increase of 15% from the 16,500 cases recorded the previous year.
Despite these staggering figures, not much is being done to create awareness about the disease and the dangers it poses to the population.
25-year-old Abdulai Adamu would have died of tuberculosis two months ago, but for the benevolence of friends. He migrated to Accra four years ago from Sandema in the upper East Region of the country in search of greener pastures.
As a scrap dealer who hustles with friends on the streets of Achimota for survival, he had no idea about tuberculosis (TB). He said he was sick for three weeks. ‘‘I was coughing for 3weeks with rib pains and yellow urine. I knew nothing about TB. The pains were severe and I had no one to take care of me. I take the drugs one hour before food and I feel very hungry. I am told I will be on it for 9 months,’’ he narrated.
He has been on treatment for the past two months and he is certain he knows better.
Though stigma remains one of the issues faced by persons infected with the disease, Adamu is yet to face any. He says persons within the zongo community are kind to him.
‘‘I don’t do anything with anyone or use anything with anyone. I know I don’t have to cough on people. I want to tell everyone to be safe out there. TB is not a small disease. I thought I was going to die’’.
TB is a contagious bacterial infection that mostly affects the lungs. In Ghana, tuberculosis is responsible for over 5% of deaths recorded annually.
Currently, the country records between 15,000 and 19,000 cases of tuberculosis, compared to the 44,000 cases expected to be detected each year. This means over 20,000 cases are missed each year.
Yet the inadequate number of gene-Xpert machines to facilitate testing for TB in the country is a major bottleneck hindering progress in the fight against the disease. Currently, there are only 171 gene-Xpert machines serving the 261 districts in the country.
More worrying is the fact that the National TB Control Programme is not certain if the country has enough cartridges needed to test for cases starting next year.
Programme manager for the National TB Control Programme (NTCP) Dr. Yaw Adusi-Poku is concerned.
‘‘2023 all year round, we were not short of cartridges. There has been some roll over for 2024 but we are not sure about 2025 and 2026 unless help comes from government,” he revealed.
Abdul-Rahman Ashley is a TB champion in his community, Saabu Zongo in the Ablekuma Central Constituency in Accra. He is well known for helping TB patients get the needed support for treatment.
“If you go to the facilities, a lot of the people infected with TB are very poor. And because the medication makes them very weak, they are unable to work, so government needs to support them. Even with something small,” he suggested.
At a media sensitization workshop on tracking the United Nations high-level meeting on tuberculosis, experts raised concerns about the government’s inadequate commitment to the fight against tuberculosis.
Executive Secretary of the Ghana Country Coordinating Mechanism of the Global Fund, Samuel Hackman, wants the government to make better commitments towards TB management to complement funds released by the global fund.
“We can do more to ensure the bottlenecks that are facing the procurement laws and financial laws that prevent the country from making financial commitment before procurement. If those things are addressed, they should be able to buy for the people of Ghana. It’s not a global fund problem. During Covid-19 some procurements of vaccines were done even though the same law is in place so it can be done. It’s a matter of priority,” he said.
Tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). In Ghana, it’s a major public health problem. Its mortality rate is reported to have declined slightly since 2015, from 37 to 36 per 100,000 population in 2021.
By Sarah Apenkro