World TB Day

Hotels are places of intersection, where people from all over the world meet and work. Globalisation stripped the importance of borders away and increased people’s mobility. Tuberculosis, an ancient disease, similarly pays no mind to borders and can be found in every nation. Tuberculosis takes lives everywhere; it affects everybody and doesn’t care about social class, age or gender. For that reason, Kempinski Hotels celebrated World TB Day for the sixth consecutive year. With properties across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, Kempinski has the ability to raise awareness and has been committed to the fight against tuberculosis, together with the Stop TB Partnership, since 2008.

To mark World TB Day, Stop TB’s Craig David postcards were put on guests’ pillows during turndown service. Kempinski hotels’ executive teams served food to staff members at staff canteens while distributing informative flyers about tuberculosis. Hotel employees were given specifically designed in-house training sessions about tuberculosis, held by either the hotels’ training managers or in-house doctors or nurses.

Besides these “standard activities”, hotels organised original events for their staff to mark the day. Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City in Ghana invited Obour, also known as Osei-Kuffour, the Stop TB Ambassador for Ghana, and a popular musician during their last recruitment day, Friday 22 March, as a way to raise awareness to future employees about the disease. The pastry chef of Kempinski Hotel Das Tirol in Kitzbühel baked a special Stop TB cake for the employees while the Çırağan Palace in Istanbul put on a bowling tournament to mark the day.

Hotel Indonesia Kempinski conducted a special TB training session for not only their staff but also for the rest of their neighbourhood, Kebon Melati Community. As part of the training, the hotel invited a representative from Siloam Hospital to address the topic of tuberculosis in Indonesia. Kempinski Seychelles Resort did the same, asking a TB specialist from the Ministry of Health of Seychelles to speak to all employees. Grand Hotel Kempinski High Tatras invited the National Institute for Tuberculosis, Lung Diseases and Thoracic Surgery to raise awareness about tuberculosis to their employees.

Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko Bulgaria and Kempinski Hotel Zografski organised a football tournament in Sofia and raised awareness about TB amongst the students of the local tourism school. The hotels also distributed flyers with information and facts about TB. Kempinski Hotel Wuxi organised a badminton competition with its sister hotel in Yixing to raise awareness on TB and promoted Stop TB’s campaign with a LED screen on their roof.

Providing basic and essential knowledge about, changing behaviour towards and de-stigmatising tuberculosis amongst staff worldwide, as well as raising awareness in employees’ local communities, is the campaign’s objective every year. As a member of Stop TB’s private sector, we engage our workplaces and want to play a part in global efforts to fight tuberculosis.

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World TB Day is commemorated on March 24th annually. Millions of people from all over the world, from different ages and walks of life come together to honor the day in remembrance of the loved ones they have lost to TB and those that were ones and currently infected with TB.
This report looks at the World TB Day of March 24th, 2013 in the Western province of Papua New Guinea. For the first time this year, all three districts commemorated World TB Day also including the mining township of Tabubil also in the North Fly District. The events are as follows:

Community Health Workers TB Training
About fifteen Community Health Workers looking after the South Fly District were brought to a central location in Daru to undergo training on the DOTS strategy to equip them with basic TB knowledge on standard TB diagnosis and treatment. Those who attended were awarded with certificates of participation.

Community Outreach
The Advocacy Communication and Social and Mobilization team were out in communities in the three districts carrying out TB awareness to public.
In South Fly District, the team went into all the corners of Daru Island advocating to the people about TB.
In the Middle Fly district, TB awareness was carried out into rural areas in conjunctions with the supervisory visits to local BMUs in the area.

In the North Fly District, the National TB program mascot visited schools to advocate on TB in and around the township of Kiunga. IEC materials were distributed to the schools for teachers and students to read and know more about TB. Since it was the first visit for Dotsy to the district most people were curious about the TB program and many wanted to know where they can get more information about TB.

Radio Fly TB talk-back show and TB Awareness programs
In the lead up to World TB Day, the National Broadcasting Commission was going on air with TB awareness messages reaching the mass population in very remote areas where newspapers and other forms of communication was not available. The TB team in the province also did talkback shows with Radio Fly through OK Tedi Mining limited for the North Fly district that can also be heard in parts of East and West Sepik provinces.

World TB Day Commemoration
The three districts commemorated World TB Day on different days due to the actual date March 24th being a Sunday. World TB Day T-shirts were produced and distributed to all the districts for their even

South Fly District
World TB Day was commemorated on Friday, March 22, 2013 on Daru Island. Many government departments, church groups, schools and business houses took part in the WTBD march from Daru General Hospital to the main sports oval where the main ceremony was held.

Students who took part in the kite competition were given prices and the first price was given to the kite with the Stop TB theme. Certificate of appreciation were also give to business houses who have contributed their resources to assist the roll out of the TB program in Western province especially the South Fly District. They include NBC, Maru Marines, Mayfuels and New Century. Speeches were also made by the TB implementing partners in the district like Daru hospital CEO Sr. Joseph, Director Rural Health Services Mrs. Alice Honjepari, World Vision’s operational manager Mr. Joseph Kapis to name a few. A local band and cultural group also performed to entertain the crowd.

Middle Fly District
World TB Day for the Middle Fly was commemorated on Friday March 22, in Balimo. A float show started at one end of town and ended at the main field. Since this is the first time for the district to host the World TB Day event many curious onlookers joined the float.

It was a half day event with speeches from the representatives from the different organizations. A drama group also performed a skit to help people understand the spread of TB. Five cured TB patients also shared their stories about TB diagnosis and treatment and the stigma related with TB. After that a major TB awareness was staged with time for the public to ask questions. IEC materials were then distributed to the general public.

North Fly District
The North Fly District commemorated World TB Day in three different locations due to scatted population in the area. IEC materials were also distributed to all the areas to distribute to commemorate the day.

Kiunga – commemorated world TB day on Thursday, March 21 with students from Kiunga town primary school, PNGDF soldiers and Dotsy the National TB program mascot leading the march around Kiunga town to the ECPNG church ground where the main event was held.

TB awareness was given by the Kiunga based hospital physician and the disease control officer. Invited guest from the district like the provincial administrator and the district health manager were not in the districts at that time and were able to attend the event.

Teachers from Kiunga town primary school also performed a drama skit. The ECPNG church band also provided entertainment. Dotsy also entertained the general public with her first appearance in Kiunga to mark World TB Day. IEC materials including posters, brochures, balloons, Stickers, information cards were distributed on the day.

Rumginae
Rumginae commemorated World TB day with community outreach into villages to advocate on TB. Students from the Rumginae School of Nursing joined the health care workers from the hospital to visit the villages and talk to the people about TB. IEC materials were also distributed in the communities.

Tabubil
The mining township of Tabubil commemorated World TB Day on Friday, March 22 also with a march from Tabubil hospital to the main town centre. Dotsy also travelled from Kiunga to Tabubil and joined the float on that day.
Ok Tedi Mining Limited in partnership with the hospital organized the event to coincide with the launching of the newly purchased Gene X-pert machine for the hospital. Students from Tabubil primary school also took part in the walk with the brass band.

Speeches were given by representatives from the different organizations:
- Dr. Rendi Moke representing the National TB Program and World Vision.
- Ms. Margaret Samei, the administrator for Tabubil hospital.
- Mr. John Kelopon, Disease Control Officer
- Mr. Erick Kuman, OTML Training Manager.

Dr. Moke highlighted on the TB situation in Western province as a whole with the number of TB cases. He also mentioned that partnership is very vital in the fight against TB and thanked companies like OK Tedi Mining Limited for its continuous support to the TB program in the province.

OTML also had the opportunity to launch the new Gene X-pert machine that was purchase for Tabubil hospital to serve the people in the North Fly District. This brings the total of two Gene X-pert machines in the province. IEC materials were given to the general public.

Summary
Overall the commemoration of World TB Day in Western province was a success in all three districts. This is the first time the TB program reached all three districts in terms of advocacy communication and social mobilization. Business house and the communities were very supportive of the events and have made commitments to support future events.
The National TB program mascot Dotsy was also a hit in Kiunga and Tabubil.

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Colorado State University’s internationally acclaimed tuberculosis researchers commemorated World Tuberculosis Day with events on March 24 and March 25. These events were designed to educate and raise awareness about tuberculosis.

Sunday, March 24
Bacteria Wars: This event was intended for families and includes games, videos, exhibits and activities, and taught children of all ages about tuberculosis and other diseases. It was held at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery.

Monday, March 25
CSU hosted an event for high school students to see CSU’s TB research laboratories in action, including tours and hands-on activities. This event gave students the chance to talk with some of the top researchers in the TB field.

Visit Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Science’s Facebook page to see pictures of the event.

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Stop TB Italy, as every year, has organized events to raise awareness on the problem of tuberculosis among the general population and the health care providers and has obtained a good resonance on the press and social networks. This year we have decided to expand our reach by organizing events in several Italian cities.

In Milan, Stop TB Italy together with Doctors with Africa CUAMM has organized a conference entitled “Stop TB in my lifetime“, held on March 14 at the Civic Aquarium.

The conference was addressed to doctors, health and social workers, and international cooperation operators and had the aim to search for new forms of collaboration between the various partners and to promote new organizational models, in order to carry out more effective and sustainable projects on tuberculosis control in high burden countries.

The conference was attended by over 120 persons, mostly young trainees, students and international cooperation workers, particularly interested in the topics covered, in view of their active involvement and future career. Various institutions gave their support to the event, among which the Department for Social Policies and Culture of Health of the Municipality of Milan, who has kindly hosted the conference in the Civic Aquarium and with which Stop TB Italy has established an excellent and on going collaboration.

Among the different speakers, Mario Raviglione, showed the overall epidemiological situation and the new challenges and objectives of the post 2015 TB strategy. The conference highlighted the experiences of the various actors involved in TB control: the non-profit represented by CUAMM and Stop TB Italy, the private sector represented by COE and BE Partec Health Association and the universities and research institutions represented by the WHO collaborating centre in Italy. Everyone has stressed the importance of international cooperation projects but also the problems related to lack of funds and resources. Therefore the conference ended with the aim of joining forces and expertise in a joint program.

In Bologna, on the evening of March 22 the photo exhibition with all the winning photographs of the Stop TB award entitled “Health, Immigration and Tuberculosis” was launched at the Cortile Café.

The cultural event is the brainchild of two young specialists in infectious diseases of Bologna, engaged in an association that provides health care to vulnerable people and immigrants. They wanted to use art to draw attention to a disease not well known and often forgotten.

The aim of the exhibition, which runs until April 10, is to interpret the disease among the most vulnerable sections of the population through photographs. The photographers have interpreted, sometimes in a metaphorical way, the social and health aspects related to tuberculosis, and have communicated them with images, often stronger than numbers and words. The exhibition launch was attended by more than 100 people, including many young people, active in the social sphere.

Stop TB Italy has also landed in Palermo. On March 21 and 22 the charity event “Now it’s magic 2013” was held at the King movie theatre with the support of various local institutions.

The most famous Disney mascots have entertained the children with an exciting animated show, followed by an extraction of prizes sponsored by Palermo Calcio and the exclusive screening of the new film “The great and powerful Oz”.

The event not only allowed1600 students of primary and secondary schools to spend a fun day with the stars of the cartoons, but also to raise awareness of tuberculosis and raise funds for the fight against tuberculosis among the Tibetan community in Dharamsala in India. In particular, some of the funds raised have been used for the organization of awareness and education activities among the Tibetan refugees in India on the World TB Day.

Finally, the Association has promoted the fourth edition of “To Be Continued“, a concert lasting 24 hours, with 48 connections from more than 39 different countries, which was possible to listen from every part of the world in live streaming on the website of Stazione di Topolò: www.stazioneditopolo.it

All the pictures of the events and the winning photographs of the “Stop TB Award” are available on the Stop TB Italy FB page () and the power point presentations on the public profile of Stop TB Italy on slideshare ().

For any further information visit the Stop TB Italy website (www.stoptb.it)

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In Bulgaria the World TB Day 2013 has been commemorated under the slogan “Our mission is to stop tuberculosis – for us and our children”.
In the period 22- 29th March, sixteen TB health facilities have launched “Days of Open Doors” campaigns for free tuberculosis screening and raising awareness. The event is supported by the Program “To Strengthen the National Tuberculosis Control in Bulgaria”, financed by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria under the Ministry of Health in Bulgaria.
In line with the World TB day 2013, on March 22nd the Ministry of Heath issued a press-release with the help of national TB consultants, aiming at bringing out the current trends and progress in fighting TB in Bulgaria.
For fourth consecutive year Bulgaria has achieved a tendency to decrease TB incidence –from 40 per 100 000 population in 2005 to 26.8 per 100 000 population in 2012, according to preliminary data.
Since 2011, the treatment success rate of new patients with smear and/or culture positive pulmonary TB has exceeded 85%.
It is important to notice that diagnosis, treatment and prevention of tuberculosis are free for inhabitants of Bulgaria regardless of their health insurance status.

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