Global Business Coalition for Health - First Lady Christine Kaseba has described the just ended Global Business Coalition for Health (GBCHealth) member meeting in South Africa as a success. Dr Kaseba said Zambia showcased its potential and hoped that financiers would get interested in what the country was doing concerning health issues.
She said she was happy that the country would see more of the Public Private Sector engagements on health-related matters.
The First Lady said this in an interview in Johannesburg shortly before her departure yesterday for Lusaka.
Dr Kaseba was in South Africa to attend the Global Business Coalition for Health members' meeting at which she was the Guest Speaker.
The meeting was also attended by South African First Lady Bongi Ngema-Zuma.
Others who attended were Global Business Coalition Health Managing Director Michael Schreiber, Anglo American Chief Medical Officer and Board Member of the Global Fund Dr Brian Brink, and Vice-President, Millennium Development Goal Alliance Office of the UN Secretary Generals MDG Advocate and Special Envoy for Malaria Blair Miller.
The First lady hoped that the Global Business Coalition for Health would pool their resources together in helping Zambia.
Dr Kaseba said it was sad that little was known about the Global Business Coalition for Health in Zambia.
She however observed that the just ended meeting gave Zambia an opportunity to showcase what was on the ground.
'Zambia has done very well but we don't share what we have done and it may be difficult for any funder to come to Zambia. We have so many good lessons and people do not know them but I'm glad Zambia already has a Public Private Partnership policy in place,' she said.
The First Lady said the meeting was beneficial because other funds were brought to light during the meeting that were not known in Zambia such as the fund on Tuberculosis (TB).
She said she would take the matter up and write a proposal aimed at increasing the screening for TB among pregnant women.
She observed that primary prevention was the best move to undertake adding that TB screening would be conducted among women attending Antenatal care.
Dr Kaseba said TB screening among women attending antenatal would make a huge difference as prevention was better than cure.
ZANIS
The Times of Zambia/04/03/2013