Marked each year on 24 March, World Tuberculosis Day gives the occasion to raise awareness about tuberculosis (TB) and to advocate more efforts to eliminate it.
This year National Societies have marked this day with different activities. And below you could find some of them.
CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD TB DAY
24th of March 2016
Red Cross of Serbia
Red Cross of Serbia was implementing the project “To reduce the burden of tuberculosis in the Republic of Serbia through scaling up MDR-TB interventions, strengthening the DOTS implementation, TB/HIV collaborative activities and strengthening TB control in vulnerable populations” funded by Global Fund to fight HIV, TB and malaria from 2005-2015.
Red Cross of Serbia was a second Primary Recipient for the GF grant besides Ministry of Health RS.
The message of the World TB Day in 2016 was launched on the press conference held in Institute for Public Health of Serbia “dr Milan Jovanovic Batut” held 24th of March at 11:00 a.m.
Speakers were Deputy Minister of Health dr Ferenc Vicko, WHO representative for Serbia dr Miljana Grbić, Director of the respective Institute dr Dragan Ilić, NTP dr Dragana Jovanović and PhD Dragan Radovanović, president of the Red Cross of Serbia.
On the very TB day, messages of the TB Day were launched on the internet : web site of the Red Cross of Serbia www.redcross.org.rs, on the official Face book profile of the Red Cross of Serbia www.facebook.com/redcrossofserbia , on the twitter account twitter.com/cksrbije with the hash tags #tuberkuloza #kontrolatuberkuloze so the general population can understand their particular role in TB control and learn about TB prevention and treatment.
Local Red Cross branches used the same material for addressing the message to most vulnerable populations.
Local Red Cross branches on the local level celebrated the very Day on the following manner:
- Provided short comprehensive messages on TB symptoms for soup kitchen beneficiaries,
- Used specifically fundraised funds to purchase hygiene and food articles for outdoor patients and organized visits to them,
- Organized educations session on locally targeted most at risk populations in coughing, TB prevention and treatment ,
- Raised awareness among the local authorities to establish the Health counsels whenever not yet established in order to keep TB as a priority – to reduce the burden or to maintain the low level of the burden in their community.
All activities on the local level were followed by local media as well.
The Red Cross of Serbia is a member of the Stop TB partnership so with Institute for Public Health of Serbia used proposed TB Day materials and translated them in Serbian language, and used it along with vulnerable groups specifically already tailored materials about TB prevention and TB treatment.
Red Cross of Kosova
Red Crescent Society of Kyrgyzstan
Bishkek, Jalal-Abad region, Chui region, Talas Province, Naryn region, Osh region, Issyk-Kul region, Batken region.
Period from 1 March 2016 on 31 March 2016.
Motto: Together we eliminate tuberculosis.
Events:
- In public places (supermarkets, markets, public transport stops) conducted information sessions, flash mob with the distribution of information materials on tuberculosis, scrolling video clips in supermarkets and audio clips on the radio room.
- Media on the nationwide radio, local radio and local television (in the field of the project) has been rolled audio clips for the prevention of tuberculosis. Speech by TB specialists and volunteers from the people who have recovered. As well as a quiz with the students’ questions and answers “on the topic that you know about tuberculosis, where the students correctly answered the questions were awarded production with image of RCSK.
- Educational institutions: in secondary schools, universities, colleges, sporting events were held (football, race, sports relay races …), recreational activities (puppet theater, KVN, essay contest, drawing contest, posters …)
- The communities of migrants carried out round tables and debates with the participation of community leaders, local authorities and people affected by TB, after the round table there were sports competitions among the residents of the community.
