|
|
|
| March 25, 2006 | Saturday | Safar 24, 1427 |
Over 200,000 TB cases reported annually
ISLAMABAD, March 24: Tuberculosis (TB) is widely prevalent in Pakistan with 250,000 new cases being detected every year. This was disclosed by participants at a seminar held on the occasion of the World Tuberculosis Day to commemorate the efforts of Sir Robert Koch who discovered the micro-organism of TB.
“Actions for Life: Towards a World Free of Tuberculosis” is the theme that has been selected this year to emphasize a sense of urgency in tackling TB to make the world free of this disease.
Pakistan harbours the sixth highest burden of TB in the world as it is responsible for more than 5.1 per cent of the total disease burden in the country.
Eighty per cent of TB cases occur in economically productive age group thus the disease is a serious concern for the health and economic status of Pakistan representing the main preventable cause of deaths among young adults.
Globally two million people lose their lives because of TB every year in EMRO (Eastern Mediterranean Region Office), said Regional Director World Health Organization (WHO) Hussein A. Gezairy in a statement read out during the seminar.
A global plan 2006-2015 to stop TB has been developed, the statement said, adding that the plan sets out actions and funding needed over the next 10 years to eliminate the disease.
The total cost of the plan is $56 billion over the next 10 years and for EMRO it is $3 billion.
The funding gaps however are huge with $31 billion or 55 per cent at the global level and $2.2 billion or 73 per cent at the EMRO level.
If WHO has $56 billion, it can save the lives of two million people in the world every year for 10 years and with only $3 billion, it can save the lives of 1.4 million people in the region, it said.
Director-General Health Dr Majeed Rajput emphasized the need to remove stigma associated with this disease and suggested that the district governments, private sector and public hospitals should collaborate to solve this issue.
Manager National TB Control Programme Dr Karam Shah said Pakistan had reached a level of 40 per cent case detection rate though the target was 70 per cent.
He said a few years ago TB was neglected, but the government realized it as a major public health problem and declared TB as national emergency in 2001.
The government raised the annual budget for the TB programme to Rs1.2 billion in 2005 from Rs138 million in 2001.
The health ministry is keen to utilize maximum resources to combat the menace of TB, he said, adding that action in this regard should focus on mobilizing communities, raising awareness, encouraging governments and donors to invest in TB control.
|
|
|
|
