Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
A one-day workshop for media professionals and civil society groups has ended with a call for all hands to be on deck in ensuring the eradication of tuberculosis in Anambra State.
The call was deemed necessary following reported increase in the number of citizens falling casualties owing to the spread of the dreaded disease in the society.
At the capacity building workshop, the civil society actors and the media including on-air personalities, print and bloggers were all tasked with contributing their quota in educating and enlightening the public towards the eradication of the TB menace in the society.
The event, which is part of the Fund TB project, is aimed at enhancing and sustaining service delivery through increased domestic investment for Tuberculosis (TB) interventions in Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Delta, and Imo states.
Supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Palladium Group, the project is anchored by Policy Alert and executed by Gender Perspective and Social Development Centre (GPSDC) in Anambra State.
Faith Paulinus, the representative of the Policy Alert for the Fund TB cluster, said the projects looks at the transformative budget and finances to improve tuberculosis services in Nigeria.
“The project is aimed at increasing funding for TB and to ensure that there is a budget line items for TB.
“In Anambra State, we are looking to see how government could increase actual releases for TB even though the state has made some level of progress.
“We have looked through the state’s monthly implementation reports for fourth quarter of the 2023 and out of the N60 million budgeted for TB intervention in the state, N21million was spent which is a huge step in the right direction and signifies 48 percent of the budgets during that period. We commend the government for that but yearn for more.”
Paulinus urged participants to cascade information about TB to all quarters, while ensuring that government pays adequate attention to the areas of need in the society.
He also tasked the CSOs to, as the conscience of the society, speak to those in power on the need for TB not only having a budget line and figures being allocated but ensuring actual releases for the programme.
Dr Ifeanyi Obiefuna, one of the resource persons who spoke on “Current Policy and Budgetary Environment for TB and Policy Alternatives, urged civil societies and media to sit-up in the fight against TB, stressing that the disease takes over 250 lives daily in Nigeria.
He identified understanding current landscape and budgets issues, engaging stakeholders, use of visual aids, driving and monitoring policy changes and advocating for transparency as avenues journalists and CSOs can ensure effective control of TB in the state.
Speaking on “Leveraging effective communication, storyteller, and skillful Advocacy for policy and behavioral change,” Coordinator of TB Network in Anambra State, Ify Unachukwu, among other things stressed the importance of coalition in policy advocacy on TB in the state.
Unachukwu identified research and evidence, clear and concise messaging, targeted communication, building relationships as the principles of advocacy. She also listed advocacy planning, goal setting, stakeholder mapping, action plan, monitoring and evaluation as steps for effective advocacy.
Earlier in her remark, the Executive Director of GPSDC, Mrs Eucharia Anekwe said the event targets effecting meaningful change and improving health outcomes for those affected by tuberculosis in Anambra State.
According to her, “This initiative is part of the health component of strengthening civic advocacy and local engagement (SCALE) with overreaching goal to enhance and sustain domestic investment to bridge the substantial 70 percent funding gap required to manage tuberculosis interventions in our focal states.”
She said the workshop provided valuable insight into effective advocacy strategies, skills and also the opportunity to share experiences and best practices of advancing TB interventions in communities.
