Gambia: Health experts seek to develop new National guidelines for TB management
Stakeholders in the country's health sector under the aegis of the National Leprosy and Tuberculosis Control Programme of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare recently kick-started a three-day workshop to develop new National Guidelines for the Management of Tuberculosis in The Gambia.
The synergy that is powered by the approved Round 9 TB Grant is taking place at the Paradise Suites Hotel in Kololi.
Speaking at the workshop, the chief nursing officer, Margret Gomez, said the document will serve as a very important guide for health workers in the diagnosis and management of TB cases. The manual, she further stated, is relevant to medical doctors, laboratory technicians, nurses and leprosy and TB inspectors both in the public and private health facilities.
Gomez further underscored that the National Guidelines (NG) will also help health service providers to efficiently manage TB and HIV co-infected patients, adding that proper diagnosis and treatment of these patients based on NG are critical interventions that are necessary to reduce the burden of Tuberculosis in The Gambia.
"In order to sustain and build upon these gains," the chief nursing officer went on, "it is important for the workshop to develop up-to-date and relevant guidelines that are aligned to the global plan to stop TB and that can be used by health workers in the day-to-day diagnosis, treatment of TB,TB-HIV and management of drugs supplies".
The programme manager of the National Leprosy and Tuberculosis Control Programme, Adama Jallow, for his part, reiterated that the aim of the workshop is to review and update the current Gambia National Tuberculosis Control Programme Treatment Guidelines, which he said was published in May 2007.
"The revision of this five-year-old treatment guideline is timely since there have been significant developments in TB control both nationally and globally. The Gambia like most sub-Saharan African countries is battling the dual diseases - Tuberculosis (TB) and HV-AIDS epidemic. Over the past years, the government of The Gambia has made significant achievements particularly in its commitment towards TB Control, which is well illustrated in the Vision 2020 and health sector strategic plan," he concluded.
allAfrica.com
