CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by Doumbia Balla Moise, Côte d'Ivoire, October 1998
THEME = DEVELOPMENT
"World Days" are an occasion to gather people together
and create awareness about important matters
This year's theme for the 3rd World Day For The Fight Against Tuberculosis was: "The effectiveness of controlled daily doses of medication". Today, Tuberculosis (TB) has once again reared it's ugly head, and because of the incidence of HIV/AIDS, people with HIV are more likely to get TB - a disease which can be cured, than those free of HIV.
The new outbreak of TB has been described as an epidemic. Today, one billion seven hundred million people in the world are infected with TB; every year, ten million new cases are added to this total; 3 million people die every year from TB. Within the context of HIV/AIDS sufferers, TB has become an infectious and deadly disease. 95% of people with TB live in developing countries. In 1996, 13,000 new cases were registered in Côte d'Ivoire.
The theme chosen for this year's World Day, aimed at making the international community aware of TB's striking increase and its links with the AIDS pandemic. On the other hand, it must be emphasised that even in the AIDS context, TB can be cured as long as the patient receives regular treatment.
Since 1993, there's been a 10% increase in the number of TB cases in Côte d'Ivoire. 9,563 in 1993, 10,731 in 1994 and 13,104 in 1996. Facts speak for themselves. So, in 1995, the government decided to make TB a priority disease to be tackled. What was first a political decision developed into practical action. The fight against TB was integrated into the fight against AIDS. Appropriate treatment was made possible even though the cost of drugs remained high. The cost of a sputum analysis was reduced from 3,000 to 100 CFA francs and the number of Care Centres was increased. There were 5 such Centres in Abidjan in 1993; by 1998 there were 20. Outside Abidjan, the number rose from 35 in 1995, to 45 in 1997.
In spite of all these efforts, only 50% of TB cases could be detected and, 20% of these patients do not complete their treatment. The treatment programme has been officially approved by the medical profession. It is applied throughout the country by all doctors and has proved to be effective, because after six months' treatment, patients are cured, regardless of whether they are HIV positive or not. Côte d'Ivoire's Health Minister invited all those involved in the campaign (doctors, nurses, midwives, etc) to closely monitor the treatment as prescribed; i.e. the daily and controlled intake of the drugs. TB-infected people are urged to follow the advice they are given by the health officials. They are also advised to accept their parents' help, so that their children can be taken care of whilst they are ill - thus avoiding infecting their children, their families and the community. It's possible to win the battle against TB, but there's one condition: Every single person must get more deeply involved in fighting against this scourge.
On the World Day, the City of Man organised a "March for Victory Over TB", and the High School students performed a number of sketches in the Place de la Paix showing how the TB pandemic can become a thing of the past. Six anti-tuberculosis centres in the region were offered drugs and electronic equipment by the director of Retroci. Man's anti-tuberculosis centre was offered two vehicles by the country's national anti-tuberculosis committee.
Like all countries in the world, Côte d'Ivoire celebrated the World Day for Rural Women on 15 October. In Man's Léon Robert Stadium, there were traditional dances, songs, poetry recitations, processions. Women flocked from all over the seven departments of this semi-mountainous region. Arriving in procession, they proudly brandished samples of what they had harvested in the fields. Representatives of women's cooperatives and from the tradeswomen's guilds also joined in the festivities.
The catch-phrase for the celebrations was: "Rural women's place in the economy". Tribute was paid to the contribution made by women in the country's ec-onomy. Rural women produce 80% of the food produced in Sub Saharan African and Caribbean countries. Women do 60% of the world's labour but, in return, their share of the world income generated by their labour is only 10%, and they only own 1% of the land. In 1996, women demanded that one day should be set aside to honour their work and the contribution they make to ensure an adequate supply of food is always available. They also wanted their share in rural development to be acknowledged.
Such a day was a "first" for Côte d'Ivoire - a day which enabled rural women to raise pertinent questions about their participation in development. Mrs Malika Abrous, representing the United Nations at the celebration, joined Mrs. Leopoldine Coffie, Minister for the Family and Women's Promotion, in stressing that no development was possible without active participation of women, and more particularly of rural women.
It is, therefore, important to become aware of the importance of women in productivity as they represent the most important contingent of the labour force. Mrs Diomande Massiami, representing rural women, shared the minister's view and, on behalf of all rural women, called for training and leadership courses to be established, so that women can make a genuine contribution towards the country's economy, because, as she said, "In that way we will be a deciding factor in Côte d'Ivoire's economy". Rural woman deserve recognition because "they work so much and earn so little".
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CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
PeaceLink 1998 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement