Jean-Luc Martinage, IFRC Geneva
Gerry Elsdon is a media personality and celebrity in South Africa where she has had a successful career as a media and public relations personality as well as a TV presenter. Her popularity even increased when she started hosting the African version of the popular reality show “Big Brother”. This was at this very moment that she suddenly fell ill. It was at the height of the success of this hit show she was diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB).
The first thing Gerry had to do was to locate a TB clinic in her district so she could start her 6-month treatment. Then she realized that even though it was only five minutes from her home in an upper class neighbourhood, she had never heard of it since it was located into such a remote place. This was also at this time that she realized that TB was a disease that authorities would rather hide. Being confronted with the stigma associated with TB, especially in a country like South Africa where co-infection is frequent and some people suffering from TB are also infected with HIV, had a significant impact on her life.
TV’s glamour girl battles TB
When her TB status became public, there were many rumours in the press that she was also living with HIV. But because Gerry was no ordinary TB patient but also a celebrity, she was asked to be on the cover of a popular women’s magazine with the headline: “The positive face of TB”.
This was the turning point for Gerry. She realized that even though she was about to fully recover from the disease, she could not ignore the plight of the thousands of people in her country that were affected by TB. Because they are not celebrities, these people are even far more affected by stigma and discrimination, fuelling further infection since they mostly live in poorer areas just like the place Gerry came from originally.
“I grew up in a township near Cape Town”, she remembers. “This was at a place and a time when the work of the Red Cross impacted our lives. This work was crucial and fundamental and it certainly showed me the way. Organizations like the Red Cross creates activists just like me”, Gerry adds.
Bringing the message worlwide
Another key encounter for her was when she met with representatives of the Lilly multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB Partnership, an alliance of more than 20 public and private organizations (including the IFRC) that have combined forces to respond to the rapidly growing threat of MDR-TB. Thanks to Lily’s support, Gerry was able to bring her message abroad. We met with her during her short stop in Geneva before heading to Cancun, Mexico to participate in meetings with members of the Lilly MDR-TB Partnership from around the world. .
“Of course we need to lobby governments for them to do more to reduce TB infection and the stigma that goes with it. However, governments cannot do everything so we need to get the work done and this involves community members as well”, she says.
Gerry especially believes more should be done in terms of the sharing of information amongst the most vulnerable groups and the necessity for people to get tested.
“It is crucial to remember that one TB patient can infect 10 to 15 people so it is vital to get treatment and follow it until the end. After all, if treated on time, TB is curable so reaching the groups that are not left behind by mainstream information campaigns is key to limit infection”, explains Lasha Goguadze, the IFRC’s Senior Officer in charge of the TB global programme who welcomed Gerry at the IFRC Geneva Secretariat.
“Bringing psychosocial support and ensuring patients have enough food is also essential as this is another major part of the recovery process. These are some of the tasks Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers implement all over the world, including in South Africa”, he concludes.