Malawi First Lady Appointed Africa’s Stop TB Partnership Ambassador

Her Excellency, Madam Monica Chakwera says Malawi has made significant strides in combating Tuberculosis (TB) in recent years.

Writing on her Facebook page the First Lady reported that she had the honour of participating in the ‘End Tuberculosis Innovation Summit’ held in New York on Wednesday alongside the United Nations General Assembly, where she got engaged in a conversation led by the Executive Director for the Stop TB Partnership in Switzerland Dr. Lucica Ditiu

She said “during this summit, I shared the successes Malawi has had in reducing incidences of TB, dropping from 197 cases per 100,000 individuals in 2015 to just 125 cases per 100,000 people in 2022.

“Nevertheless, my deep concern lies with the women and girls residing in rural areas who endure arduous journeys to access quality TB treatment,”

She added pointing out that to address this issue, “I advocate for the implementation of community and patient centred treatment initiatives which bring services closer to people in communities to facilitate early diagnosis for patients”.

During the deliberation the First Lady also stressed that it is also crucial to introduce strategies such as TB mobile diagnostics, community-based sputum collection points, and door-to-door screening as pivotal measures aimed to eliminate TB by 2030.

As the newly appointed Ambassador for the Stop TB Partnership in Malawi and throughout Africa, Chakwera called for collaborative workforce to unite, mobilize resources, and effectively implement strategies to combat TB in Malawi and across the entire African continent.