Ghana to host AU conference on combating TB 

Ghana will host over 800 delegates from Africa and the diaspora to find ways of fighting Tuberculosis (TB) on the continent.  

The 20th conference to be held at the Accra International Conference Centre is scheduled for the 10th-13th of this month.  

The theme for the event is: “Accelerating Implementation Through Partnership to end TB, HIV/TB, Tobacco and other related NCDs”. 

This year's conference, which also marks the 50th anniversary of the Ghana Society for the Prevention of TB  will bring together stakeholders from Africa and the globe to learn and share the latest clinical, scientific, social and other topics on Tuberculosis, NCDs, TB/HIV Tobacco and lung related concerns amongst others.  

The Conference Chair, Dr Frank Bonsu, said Ghana hosting the conference is historic, since the first Union Africa Regional Conference was hosted in Ghana in 1967 and this year’s gathering also coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Union”. 

He said the conference will provide the opportunity for Researchers, Scientists, Policy Makers, Service Providers, Politicians and Civil Society to share experiences to ensure that TB and its related diseases are eliminated from the continent.

Dr Bonsu said Ghana has over the years achieved a lot in the area of fighting TB with new technologies and methodologies, which will be worth sharing with other countries during the conference.  

He said the agenda for the event will include various symposia on host-pathogen interactions, Drug-Resistant TB, TB/HIV Co-infection, TB in vulnerable population, communities and civil society, TB and innovative technologies, Tobacco, Asthma as well as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary diseases. 

Dr Bonsu urged participating countries to draw lessons, applicable to their peculiar situations to help improve on the quality of care and eliminate TB from Africa.  

President Akufo-Addo, who is the Chief Patron of the GSPT will be attending the conference to give the inaugural lecture.  

He paid tribute to Dr Nicholas De Heer, the only surviving member of the GSPT, who played a key role in the first Union conference in 1967.

GNA