Malawi is hosting a two-day meeting of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) of the Tuberculosis and Health Systems Support Project.
The meeting, which began on Wednesday, is reviewing progress made so far as well as finding interventions to end tuberculosis in the region.
Speaking during the official opening, Malawian Secretary to the Treasury, Ben Botolo, said African continent continues to be one of the regions with highest rates of TB, HIV and a combination of both TB and HIV.
“Therefore, RAC serves as a platform to share lessons, successes and challenges as we all seek to deliver the best possible services to our people,” he said.
He said there is need to strengthen knowledge sharing not just among the participating countries in the project but with the rest of the region and beyond.
The participating countries include Zambia, Mozambique, Lesotho and Malawi.
Botolo urged member states not to leave any stone unturned in addressing the common challenges facing the countries together.
SADC advisor on tuberculosis Daniel Kibuga said the project gives an opportunity to participating countries to achieve the goal of ending TB in the region.
“This disease is a very big challenge when it comes to social economic development of the countries as well as the region because it takes away the human capital which is mostly needed,” he said.
The project was adopted by the African Union and was launched in December 2016 in Maputo, Mozambique with an aim of “Uniting in Ending TB by 2030”.
