LIBERIA – Two of Liberia’s most populous counties, Bong and Nimba, are currently benefiting from three-year tuberculosis (TB) treatment program.
The program, which is being implemented by the Liberia Methodist Development Services (LUMDS), in partnership with the Liberian Government with support from Global Fund, is a three-year project aimed at ending tuberculosis in the country by 2035.
In an interview with the Liberia News Agency at the Baptist Clinic in Gbarnga over the weekend, the Case Unification Manager of LUMDS, Mr. Kokolo Y. Yorgbor, disclosed that LUMDS is currently catering to 50 TB patients in Bong County.
According to him, the program is being run in 16 clinics, including the Methodist Clinic in Gbarnga, where they are also supplying assorted food items, including rice, oil, peanut butter, milk, and beans, to patients who, according to him, have already completed their six months of treatment.
Mr. Yorgbor maintained that the food items supplied will provide nourishment for beneficiaries, and encouraged other tuberculosis patients in various communities across Bong County to turn out for the treatment of the disease.
“Those receiving the supply are those who have completed the six-month treatment. The food will serve as a nourishment to them and even motivate others in communities in Bong County,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Yorgbor is calling on the inhabitants of the county to join his institution in the fight against TB in order to end the disease by 2035.
“This, I think, should be the responsibility of all to be on the field to inform those coughing for over two weeks, those with a nuke on their necks, and those who have a bone problem to go to the clinic for treatment free of charge,” he urged.
The current global fund support, according to him, is a performance grant for three years, indicating that the grant could be extended based on how the first project is implemented.
In remarks, the Baptist Clinic Officer-In-Change (OIC), Mr. J. Harris Kollie, lauded LUMDS and the Liberian Government for the support to patients, terming it as “timely.”
Kollie assured that the supply will reach the targeted beneficiaries which will motivate others with the disease to go for treatment.
The Baptist Clinic OIC appealed to the government to provide logistical support to the clinic, especially motorbikes, that will enable them to reach out to communities for contact tracing.
He also wants the government to provide additional medication for the patients and increase the manpower at the facility.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease that is caused by a bacterium known as “mycobacterium tuberculosis” which usually attacks the lungs. The disease also attacks other parts of the body such as the kidneys, spine, and brain, noting that not everyone affected by TB gets sick.
People with the illness must take “isoniazid, rifampin, ethambutol and pyrazinamide” as a common treatment for the disease. LINA
