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SUSTAINABILITY CORNER Access Bank organises
Tuberculosis Awareness Program
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), tuberculosis (TB) is the ninth leading cause of death worldwide and the leading cause from a single infectious agent, ranking above HIV/AIDS. Over 25% of TB deaths occur in the African Region. The emergence of multidrug- resistant TB (MDR-TB) poses a major health security threat and could risk gains made in the fight against TB. Nigeria is among the 14 high burden countries for TB with an estimated 407,000 contracting this infectious disease each year.
Despite significant progress in the past decades, at the current rate of progress, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) target on TB might not be achievable. Currently, the annual rate of decline in TB incidence is around 4–5% by 2020 and needs to be over 10% by 2025 in order to achieve the goal of ending the epidemic by 2030. It is obvious that TB control, treatment and prevention requires a lot more political commitment and funding from the government at all levels to fight the disease.
For more information, please contact: Email: Sustainability@accessbankplc.com
Access Bank partnered with the Nirvana Initiative in May, 2020 to implement a tuberculosis program aimed at reducing the prevalence of tuberculosis in Awada, Muru village Ogidi, Idemili North Local Government, and Ogbeumuonicha, Onitsha North Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Anambra State. This partnership aims to support innovation that addresses the needs of the country, promoting advocacy and the dissemination
of information for the eradication of TB.
The program involved sensitization on TB prevention, free testing services, distribution of IEC materials, market outreach and a media awareness campaign in those communities. Over 104,900 people with TB prevention, control and treatment information and education in eastern Nigeria were impacted through the program.
PAGE 11 INSIDE ACCESS | SEPTEMBER 2020 1ST EDITION