Towards Zero TB Deaths

KELIN in partnership with NEPHAK, and with support from AIDS Fonds, will conduct a radio talk show on 25th March, 2014 after the World TB Day on Radio Maisha. The radio show will bring out legal, medical and human rights issues, which will interactively be discussed by legal and human rights experts on the show responding to text messages and call ins.

According to Stop TB partnership, more than one million people around the world become ill with Tuberculosis each year. About one third of them fail to get an accurate diagnosis or effective treatment and are more likely to die from this curable disease.

Tuberculosis (TB) and HIV have been closely linked since the emergence of AIDS. TB is the most common opportunistic infection affecting HIV-sero-positive individuals, and it remains the most common cause of death in patients with AIDS. HIV infection has contributed to a significant increase in the incidence of TB. Although HIV related TB is both treatable and preventable, incidence continues to rise, especially in developing nations where HIV infection & TB are endemic and resources to fight them are limited. In addition, interactions between HIV & TB medications and overlapping medication toxicities complicate the co-treatment of HIV and TB.

Human rights are universal, inalienable, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. In the Constitution of Kenya 2010, Article 43(1) a makes provision for every person to have the right to the highest attainable standards of health. At the end of the show, KELIN hopes to engage the public in the “Towards zero TB deaths“ campaign debate and make recommendations for TB control and management as the realization of human rights, including the right to health, is a central aspect of development.