United States ambassador to Namibia Dennise Mathieu, during the recent National World TB Day commemoration event themed “I am Stopping TB”, underscored the importance and powerful impact of individual efforts and responsibilities in fighting TB.

Dennise Mathieu

“Each of us, working together with Namibia’s communities and health centres, can play a vital role in turning the tide on this disease,” she said.
Mathieu said World TB Day serves as a reminder of the global threat posed by tuberculosis. Though TB has been curable for more than 50 years, it persists as a worldwide problem imposes a heavy burden families, communities, and countries, she said.
She said over 4000 people die everyday from TB and over 24000 new cases are recorded everyday. Namibia has one of the highest TB rates in the world.
“For those whose immune systems are already weakened by HIV/AIDS, TB is the most common opportunistic infection and the number one cause of death. As we are all painfully aware, this is certainly true in Namibia. We can’t talk about TB without in the same breath, talking about HIV/AIDS,” she said.
The US government is assisting Namibia’s National Tuberculosis Programme to improve the quality of basic TB programmes.
The US provided just over N$60 million dollars to support TB prevention and treatment in Namibia between 2004 and 2007, and globally, the US provides substantial bilateral support and funding to the Global Fund, the World Health Organization, and other agencies and organizations.