National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula and 29 other members of Parliament from 20 African countries signed a political declaration calling on Heads of State, including Kenya's President William Ruto, to attend an upcoming United Nations meeting.
The Parliamentarians signed the groundbreaking declaration in July during the “Future-proof: Africa TB Summit 2023” convened by the Global Tuberculosis Caucus amid concerns about the current status of intergovernmental talks on TB in New York.
In a press release on Thursday, the caucus lamented that the "2023 UN High Level Meeting negotiations are a long way from where they need to be.”
The mishap had derailed the continent from its path to advance the fight against TB.
Speaking after appending his signature, Stephen Mule, Matungulu MP and Head of the National TB Caucus of Kenya, confirmed that the declaration will help African countries easily track their targets to eradicate TB.
“Globally, TB is the leading infectious cause of death, and Africa carries about a quarter of the total global TB burden. As parliamentarians from Africa, we are glad that we have signed this declaration today and collectively, we shall be seeking to drive the political will to end TB in our respective countries," Mule, who also serves as the Regional Co-Chair of Anglophone Africa, stated.
"This Regional Joint declaration will further create a framework that stakeholders in this continent can adopt and utilise as we work collectively to end TB.”
Data from the World Health Organisation indicates that more than 74 million lives have been saved from TB globally since 2000.
However, Africa remains a high-burden continent for TB, with TB/HIV and multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) among the leading causes of death on the continent.
"Strong political will is necessary to safeguard and secure stronger policies and strategic planning," read the statement in part.
Among Kenyan MPs who signed the declaration were Nyeri Town MP Duncan Maina Mathenge and his Gilgil counterpart Martha Wangare, both allied to United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
Others were MPs James Nyikal (Seme), Julius Sunkuli (Kilgoris) and Joseph Pukose (Endebess).
According to the WHO, 1.6 million died of TB in 2021, including 187,000 people who had contracted HIV. In the same year, 10.6 million people fell ill with the disease.
TB is the 13th leading cause of death worldwide and the second leading infectious killer after Covid-19.
