The Centre for Tobacco Control in Africa ( CTCA) and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease have agreed on a strategic alliance to support tobacco control in Africa, specifically in Uganda and Mauritania, where the two are operating.
This was during a visit by a team from the Union to the CTCA, on Feb 4, 2014 to map out areas of synergy in supporting TC interventions in Africa. Some of the potential areas of collaboration identified include; mainstreaming tobacco control into TB, capacity building for Tobacco Industry Monitoring, as well as joint resource mobilization to support TC in Africa.
The Technical Advisor of the Union, Sylviane Ratte revealed that the Union has piloted training in Tobacco Industry Monitoring (TIM) in 10 Francophone countries, adding that there is need for CTCA to contribute towards this resource and capacity building skills for Africa. CTCA has developed a Tobacco Industry Monitoring Tool ctc-africa.org/images/docments/tk/tim_tool_b5_new.pdf, which has been used by 13 countries to collect baseline information on tobacco industry presence, operations, and tactics.
On mainstreaming tobacco control into TB, it was agreed that there is a strong need to sensitize health workers on the link between tobacco and TB. The team also noted that it is essential for TC advocates to build the evidence for governments to show that it will cost them less to include Nicotine Replacement Therapies ( NRTs) for cessation on the essential drug lists than to treat TB patients affected by tobacco use. WHO estimates that more than 20% of global TB incidence is attributable to tobacco smoking, making tobacco a major risk factor for TB. It is further estimated that tobacco smoking increases the risk of acquiring TB disease by more than two and a half times.
The CTCA team noted that CTCA as a step towards facilitating mainstreaming, the Centre is currently developing a guide for mainstreaming to help countries integrate tobacco control into other health programs.
The Union is set to support enforcement of regulations in Uganda with regards to ban on Tobacco Advertising Promotion and Sponsorships (TAPS), Smoke free Environments and training in Tobacco Industry Monitoring. CTCA on the other had is support the process of enacting the Bill in Uganda, development of signage for government departments to prevent exposure to tobacco smoke, as well as the development of Pictorial Health Warnings ( PHWs)
The Team from the Union that visited CTCA included; Paula Fujiwara, the Scientific Director, as well as Sylviane Ratte and Dr. Anna Nakanwagi MUkwaya, both Technical Advisors.