Bosi elected Sabata Penampang chief as TB cases rise up sharply
PENAMPANG: Dr Edwin Bosi has been elected as the new chairman of Sabah Anti-Tuberculosis Association (Sabata) Penampang branch for fiscal year 2019/2021 during their annual general meeting (AGM) held at the Riverside Sup Pipin 1 Inobong Penampang on May 12.
Bosi, in his acceptance address, thanked the members for their confidence in him to helm the association for the next two years.
He congratulated the immediate past chairman, Sylvester Spiji, and his committee for the many TB awareness programs and fund-raising activities.
He reminded the members on the role of the late Henry Mogindol, the past president of Sabata, who had made Sabata one of the most active NGOs in Sabah.
Hence, he urged the members to continue to be committed and passionate about their voluntary work in eradicating TB from the community.
“We all know TB is a contagious and infectious zoonotic disease. It is a community disease that is transmitted through aerosol in coughing and the sharing of utensils in unsanitary living environment,” he said.
It is reported that there were only 13 registered TB patients in Penampang and 12 in Putatan in 2017.
However, in 2018, TB registered patients in Penampang had increased to 63 while Putatan registered 78 patients.
Bosi said this is a scary trend in the districts of Penampang and Putatan.
He added that a gigantic challenge is before us now. Our rural health and awareness programs must be increased with emphasis on hot spot areas like Babagon, Sugud and Nosoob Baru.
“We will be working closely with the Penampang Health Department through health officer Dina Marius, who is also the treasurer of Sabata Penampang branch.
“We will also be working closely with village chiefs and community leaders to make every villager aware of the disease, help identify all positive cases and to keep track of their treatment,” he said.
Bosi said that as an NGO, Sabata is always involved in fund-raising activities such as the annual flag sales in July.
It needs financial support or in kind from the general public and big companies, he added.
The funds raised are used to pay for transportation, lodging and meals for registered TB patients when they go for review in the hospital under the treatment allowance scheme; to pay volunteers to go, search and retrieve defaulters of TB treatment regime; to disseminate information about TB by publishing and printing leaflets; to give talks on health education with emphasis on TB; to organise talks, seminars and exhibitions; and to coordinate the visits of the government TB control team (collecting specimens, intra-dermal tests and X-ray).
The following are Sabata Penampang branch office bearers for 2019-2021: Dr Edwin Bosi (chairman), Sylvester Spiji (immediate past chairman), Christine Anthony (vice chairman), Ryan Nicholas Stidi (secretary), Eliza Mogindol (assistant secretary), Dina @ Fidelia Anna Peter Marius (treasurer); and committee members: Joseph Jominol, Franky Lobinjang, Venitha Lojuti, Ivan Iverson, and Helen Mogindol.