In 2023, the North West recorded almost 800 people who were diagnosed with Tuberculosis and health officials are intensifying efforts to reduce that number this year
By Boris Esono Nwenfor
BUEA, Cameroon – Over 400 people are currently receiving treatment for tuberculosis at the Bamenda Regional Hospital in Mezam Division, North West Region, according to health personnel in the region. To easily detect more cases and reduce the prevalence of tuberculosis in the Region, the health officials in the region have recommended constant screening for TB.
Dr Mercy Fundoh, Coordinator of the Regional Technical Group for Tuberculosis Control Activities in the North West Region, said the high prevalence of tuberculosis in the Region, could be attributed to the high intake of tobacco and opportunistic diseases like diabetes and HIV, which weakens the immune system. The health official and her team are determined to intensify sensitization to improve case finding in communities.
“In the North West Region, we had almost 800 hundred people last year, who were diagnosed of tuberculosis and placed on treatment,” she disclosed. “For every patient that comes to a health facility, the screening for tuberculosis, asking for the cardinal signs and symptoms like cough, night sweat, fever, and weight loss is a step to ensuring that everybody is screened.”
Stigmatization from family and friends is one of the main reasons why most persons are reluctant to be confined for treatment. Dr Fundoh reiterated that treatment for tuberculosis is free. Patients with the disease are warned to guard against consumption of homemade treatment which could worsen the situation.
“We still have several cases where patients infected with tuberculosis are abandoned at the level of the health facility with no sort of moral or financial support.”
“The theme of the World TB Day 2024 is “Yes! We can end TB! – it conveys a message of hope that getting back on track to turn the tide against the TB epidemic is possible through high-level leadership, increased investments and faster uptake of new WHO recommendations,” said Dr. Tereza Kasaeva, Director of, the WHO Global TB Programme.
“We should remain positive, constructive and believe that Yes! We can end TB! But to make it happen, everyone should ask them – “What Can I Do to End TB?” WHO will continue to provide global leadership for the TB response, working in close collaboration with all stakeholders until we reach and save every person, family and community impacted by this deadly disease?”
About 25,700 cases of Tuberculosis were reported in Cameroon in 2022, representing a 12.5% increase from 22,866 cases reported in 2021, according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2021-2022 TB report.
The WHO-TB also reports a total of 164 new TB cases for 100,000 inhabitants in 2021 and 154 new cases for 100,000 inhabitants in 2022. Between 2021 to 2022 Cameroon witnessed a drop in the TB mortality rate, from 30 to 26 cases for 100,000 inhabitants. Within the same time frame, 7.5 million global TB cases were diagnosed, the highest figure ever recorded since the beginning of TB in the world in 1995.
“We have to continue the intense search for cases and treatment of TB patients and step up efforts to reduce new infections by increasing preventive treatment against the disease as well as improving quality of care for patients,” said Dr Manaouda Malachie, Cameroon’s Minister of Public Health
