Word TB Day
Today is World TB Day.
According to a recent WHO the global tuberculosis (TB) epidemic has levelled off for the first time since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared TB a public health emergency in 1993. The Global Tuberculosis Control Report released today by WHO finds that the percentage of the world’s population struck by TB peaked in 2004 and then held steady in 2005.
Some interesting messages of hope are coming from the WHO which you can read here.
UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon
“We are currently seeing both the fruits of global action to control TB and the lethal nature of the disease’s ongoing burden. Almost 60 per cent of TB cases worldwide are detected, and out of those, the vast majority are cured. Over the past decade, 26 million patients have been placed on effective TB treatment thanks to the efforts of governments and a wide range of partners.”
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Executive Director, Sir Richard Feachem
“More than 1 million people are alive today thanks to the hard work of national tuberculosis programs who receive Global Fund resources and are supported by strong partners like the World Health Organization, Stop TB Partnership, the Global Drug Facility and the Green Light Committee. However, TB still kills 1.6 million people each year. We must step up the fight by mobilizing even more resources in order to expand and improve the quality of existing programs to treat both ordinary and drug resistant TB, and to make greater investments in HIV/TB co-infection interventions.”
UNFPA Executive Director/UN Under-Secretary-General, Ms Thoraya Ahmed Obaid
“We call on all countries to scale up TB diagnosis and treatment, especially as a key component of their maternal health services. Tuberculosis is taking a heavy toll on women, affecting them in the prime of their lives, threatening their health security and that of their families. We at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) call on all countries to scale up TB diagnosis and treatment, especially as a key component of reproductive and maternal health services.”
World Bank, Vice President for Human Development, Joy Pumaphi
“Given the world’s commitment to halve TB deaths by 2015, the development community must do more to better finance TB control interventions, and the health systems necessary to reduce the deadly impact of this disease and others. While welcoming progress in better TB detection and treatment in a growing number of countries, the World Bank is re-doubling its efforts to help poor countries strengthen their health systems as its best contribution to combating TB worldwide, while encouraging donors to commit to long-term predictable donor assistance for health. In this way, the Bank is committed to help developing countries achieve better TB results in Africa and other regions that are not currently on track to meet their 2015 TB goals, a task complicated by TB’s co-epidemic association with HIV and AIDS, and the emergence of extensively drug-resistant forms of the disease.”
It was heartening to read that there was no increase in number of people affected by TB in the last recorded year, though there’s a lot more to do to reverse.
I’ve had a bit of a look into, and I’ve been impressed by some of the TB programs funded by the Global Fund.