Uganda: Bebe Cool named TB ambassador

The singer was nominated for the ambassadorship by the Uganda Stop TB Partnership in collaboration with the UN Office for Project Services.

Bebe Cool told local media on Monday that he would use his popularity to raise awareness and encourage those affected by the disease to seek treatment.

“I am proud to take on this responsibility for my motherland Uganda,” he said. “To support the Uganda Stop TB Partnership, the Ministry of Health and UNOPS in the campaign to end TB in Uganda is a big responsibility that I and many Ugandans should embark on to save lives that are lost each passing day because of this killer disease.”

The singer is now in New York to take part in a UN high-level meeting on TB, which begins today.

While in New York, Bebe Cool will lobby for increased TB funding as well as the expansion of screening services and increase of human resources to fight the disease in Uganda.

The UN meeting will provide a platform for celebrities, media professionals and activists to discuss and find viable solutions for the eradication of TB.

A report released in 2017 by the World Health Organisation reveals that the number of Ugandans living with tuberculosis (TB) had increased by 60%.

As of last year, the country’s TB prevalence was at 253 per 100 000 people as opposed to 159 per 100 000 in 2015. Those affected are aged between 35 and 44 years with the majority being male.