A Sportsman’s Zeal to Stop TB- Carlin Alusa’s story.
Popularly known as the red card man, Carlin Alusa is a passionate and visionary man who strives to contribute to stopping the Tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS menace in the sports world by creating much needed awareness.
A former referee of the international football governing body FIFA, he is currently serving as a Project Officer at AMREF Africa and at the same time, as a FIFA referee instructor. He also serves as an ambassador of HIV/AIDS in partnership with renowned sports personalities like Musa Otieno, Dennis Oliech and Conjestina Achieng’. In addition, he is a dedicated TB advocate for STOP TB Partnership – Kenya.
Carlin admits that there is little awareness on health matters in the world of sports particularly on TB. He adds that referees are the commanders of sports and with that in mind, they need to be trained on how TB is transmitted, how it can be prevented and treated. Consequently, he ensures he has encompassed the TB discussion in his training sessions because a lack of awareness can lead to traumatising effects not only on the individual, but also on the team. He explained further by saying that if one member of the team was unfortunately affected, it not only demoralised him but the whole team as well. “They all function as one,” he said.
He admits that majority of the people he talks to about TB are oblivious of the daily exposure they are prone to which is mainly caused by ignoring routine activities like proper ventilation in densely congregated areas.
Even though he has never been infected with active TB, he admits that being in the field of social development, he realised that people lack information on TB risk factors as well as how they should handle people with TB. He gives an example of people living with HIV/AIDS who die from complications related to TB and says that many deaths can be averted if majority of the patients are knowledgeable of the adverse effects that TB has on people living with HIV.
On ways to raise awareness to the fans that play a crucial role in the sports world, Carlin says that collaborations with corporates and sportsmen can go a long way in providing adequate information. This can be done through strategically placing TB messages in stadiums, distributing flyers that provide information on symptoms, transmission and treatment of TB at stadium entry points and occasional organizing free TB testing camps during major sporting events.
Carlin urges all Kenyans to take care of their general health and advises anyone with symptoms of TB which include prolonged dry cough (two weeks or more), night sweats, chills, abnormal loss of weight, fever, fatigue or loss of appetite to ensure that they get tested because TB is curable.
Lastly, he urges family members and the community to stop stigmatizing TB patients and people living with HIV but instead support them to get treatment and lead a normal life.
