dyton mupawaenda
Rumbidzayi Zinyuke-Senior Health Reporter
Parliamentarians and other key stakeholders involved in tuberculosis (TB) response, this week convened in Kwekwe to discuss strategies for enhancing laws and policies pertaining to individuals affected by the disease.
The dialogue came on the back of the conclusion of a TB legal landscape analysis for Zimbabwe and aims to foster discussions on critical legislative and policy interventions to safeguard the rights and well-being of people affected by TB.
The initiative was facilitated by the Jointed Hands Welfare Organisation (JHWO), with funding from the Challenge Facility for Civil Society (CFCS), a funding mechanism supported by the Stop TB Partnership in Geneva, Switzerland.
Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting, acting deputy director AIDS and TB programmes in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Dr Fungai Kavenga, said the programme was a critical measure to ensure people affected by TB had adequate access to healthcare, employment rights and social protection.
“This stakeholder engagement will foster collaboration and consensus among stakeholders towards the development and implementation of comprehensive policies that uphold the rights of people affected by TB,” he said.
Global health and human rights consultant and researcher, Mr Brian Citro, said similar initiatives were being implemented in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.
“The goal of the project in each of these countries is to promote more accountability among decision makers in TB, better access to legal remedies, meaning going to court or using an administrative body for people affected by TB,” he said.
Mr Citro said the project also aims to strengthen legislation that governs TB.
In Zimbabwe, the Public Health Act is one of the key laws that provides for a wide variety of matters affecting public health and creates the legal framework for the protection of public. There was a need to engage the legislators on how the law could be strengthened to protect those affected by TB, said Mr Citro.
The analysis also recommended among others, the amendment of section 5 of the Labour Act to include TB and health status as prohibited grounds for employment discrimination as well as the engagement of the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to promulgate new labour regulations to protect and support workers affected by TB in accordance with the Labour Act.
“Our overall goal is to strengthen the laws to protect the rights of people with TB. And by doing that, it should improve the TB response.
“I mean, at the end of the day, it’s not just about individual rights. It’s about improving the whole disease response,” he said.
JHWO executive director, Dr Donald Tobaiwa, said the coming together of various stakeholders was a step towards eliminating TB as a public health challenge.
“This is coming as an aftermath of the Community Rights and Gender Assessment that we conducted in 2021 in the country to get to understand why we have different inequities, where we have different barriers to accessing services, especially TB services in the country,” he said.
Although TB treatment is free in Zimbabwe, patients often face catastrophic costs before they are diagnosed with TB while the majority often lose employment during the time they undergo treatment.
Dr Tobaiwa said it was important to address the issue around that loss of income and ensure their livelihoods are safe.
“It is fortunate that we had parliamentarians who are also part of the TB caucus, who then are demonstrating political commitment to ensure that from a policy perspective, they also engage in Parliament, have conversations around how we can better ensure that TB is visible, but most importantly, we are saying we want to end TB by 2030, but it needs all of us,” he said.
Former Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health chairperson and member of the global TB caucus, Dr Ruth Labode, said the engagement of lawmakers was crucial in the TB fight.
“We are looking at the Labour Ministry ensuring that there’s a law that protects workers. That if you get TB, you must be able to go back to employment once you are better.
“In Zimbabwe, it is two months on treatment there’s a presumption that you are now negative you can go back to work but what has been happening, especially in the private sector, is that once you go away for two months you are gone for good.
“When you come your position is gone. So we are hoping that Parliament can push for security of employment post TB,” she said.
She said legislators could also advocate for increased funding for TB to allow for research into new treatments and vaccines.
Online Reporter