Husselmann's cycling crusade for TB

Husselmann's cycling crusade for TB TUYEIMO HAIDULA

OSHAKATI



Karin Husselmann joined in on Namibia's fight against tuberculosis (TB) on Thursday by cycling 60 km - from Oshikango to Eenhana - to create awareness on the disease.

The 50-year-old nurse and TB survivor said she is committed to creating public awareness about the devastating effects of TB, especially in children. She was diagnosed with TB in 2006 and was cleared after six months of treatment.

“This is my maiden ride, and I have themed it #Pedal4PaedsTB. 'Paeds TB' is short for paediatric TB, which also refers to childhood TB.

“I decided to use my voice and gear my advocacy efforts in the area of childhood TB. I thought it may be more impactful to use cycling as a mode of information sharing, because children are generally quite connected to cycling,” she said.

Her cycle crusade comes a day after World Tuberculosis Day, which is commemorated on 24 March.

The theme for this year's global event is 'time is ticking!', and in Namibia, the day was commemorated at Oshikango Open Market on Friday.



Join hands

Earlier this month, health minister Dr Kalumbi Shangula told the National Assembly that Namibia is among the countries in the world with a high TB burden. He told Namibian Sun this week that the country can win the fight against TB if all stakeholders join hands, as he believes many of the factors contributing to TB infection lie outside the health sector.

He added that stakeholders outside the health sector must be mobilised to play their role in alleviating the burden in the country.

Currently, Namibia is ranked eighth globally and fifth in Africa among countries with a high TB rate, and with an incidence rate of 486 per 100 000 people.



End the neglect

Husselmann said there has been a lot of neglect locally and globally in diagnosing and treating children with TB, and now is the time for this neglect to be rectified.

She said as a TB survivor, she noted that the discrimination comes with emotional turmoil.

“Experiencing the negative attitude of my community towards me caused emotional wounds and filled me with grave concern about the effects of ignorance and the apparent lack of knowledge and empathy for people with TB.

“It was only my strong faith and the support of my family and close friends that pulled me through, combined of course with the right medicines,” she said.

She has been committed to advocacy work since 2016 when she worked as a special diseases coordinator for the Karasburg district, she added.

Husselmann said she is hopeful her campaign will bring about much-needed awareness to TB.

“With every pedal, I literally think and pray for children who suffer from TB, and trust that as the action of pedalling propels me forward on the bicycle, so will the information-sharing equip communities on how to treat children with TB in the future,” she said.

tuyeimo@namibiansun.com