World Day Against Tuberculosis

• May 8, 2024

The World Tuberculosis Day serves to generate a higher level of awareness regarding the global epidemic of tuberculosis and efforts to end the disease. Currently, one third of the world's population is infected of tuberculosis. The Global Stop TB Partnership, a network of organizations and countries that fight against the disease, organizes the World Day to raise awareness of the extent of the disease and ways of prevent it Y cure it .

This event, which is celebrated every year on March 24 , marks the day when Dr. Robert Koch He detected in 1882 the cause of tuberculosis, namely, the tubercle bacillus. This was the first step towards diagnosis and cure of the disease . The World Health Organization (WHO) is working to reduce, by 2015, the prevalence rate and deaths in half.

Organizations fight against tuberculosis

On the occasion of World TB Day, the (WHO), the Global Fund to Fight AIDS , tuberculosis and malaria , and the Stop TB Partnership call on the world leaders so that they reinforce their commitment and contributions in order to reach the goal of diagnosing and treating 1 million people suffering from multiresistant tuberculosis (TB-MR) between 2011 and 2015.

The progress achieved

The WHO published on March 23, 2011, the report entitled "Towards universal access to diagnosis and treatment of MDR-TB and XR-TB in 2015 ", which presents the progress made in the response to MDR-TB in the countries most affected by drug-resistant tuberculosis." Many countries have made progress but despite the recent expansion of actions, the world must do much more to treat MDR-TB patients in need, "said Dr. Margaret Chan , Director General of WHO. "We can not allow the MR-TB to spread freely ”.

• Not treating MDR-TB increases the risk
• Failure to treat MDR-TB increases the risk of this strain spreading. The WHO estimates that between 2011 and 2015 more than 2 million new cases of TB-MR.

TB treatment programs

It is planned that for 2015 Programs funded by the Global Fund that follow the WHO therapeutic guidelines diagnose and treat some 200 thousand people with MDR-TB, four times the 50 thousand patients currently receiving treatment.

The Global Fund is expected to contribute, in 2011, 84% of all international investments to fight tuberculosis. However, it is necessary to increase the national resources and international organizations to tackle MDR-TB and continue to make progress in fight against the disease .

"Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is a threat to all countries because it is difficult and expensive to treat.If we do not make an extraordinary effort to deal with this problem, we will see our general capacity to finance and ensure continued advances against tuberculosis, "said the Professor. Michel Kazatchkine , Executive Director of the Global Fund.

It is time to act

"It's time for countries with fast growing economies and a high burden of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis reinforce their commitment and expand funding for their own programs against MDR-TB. Some have the ability to demonstrate new leadership in South cooperation and in helping neighboring countries that are also affected, "says Dr. Jorge Sampaio , Special Envoy of the Secretary General of the United Nations for the strategy Stop Tuberculosis .

Since 2009, the 23 countries most affected by drug-resistant tuberculosis have almost doubled their budgets for MR-TB. From 2002 to 2010, TB programs funded by the Global Fund have provided treatment for 7.7 million people and have saved 4.1 million lives .

"The success of the Global Fund can be measured by taking the number of lives that have been saved thanks to the care provided by the tuberculosis programs it funds," he said. Lucica Ditiu , Executive Secretary of the Stop TB Partnership. "All patients with tuberculosis should have access to adequate care . We act on behalf of millions of patients around the world and our strong partners such as WHO and the Global Fund. So that we can provide effective assistance against MDR-TB to 1 million people In the next 5 years, we will have to work closely with all partners, especially with the affected communities. "

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a variety of tuberculosis that does not respond to standard first-line drugs. In 2009, WHO reported that 9.4 million people they contracted tuberculosis , of which 1.7 million they died , 380 thousand because of tuberculosis associated with HIV . In 2008, the last year for which statistics are available, there were about 440 thousand cases of MR-TB and 150 thousand deaths.

Stop TB Partnership

The Stop TB Partnership, hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva (Switzerland), is composed of more than 1,600 organizations international organizations, countries, donors from the public and private sectors, and governmental and non-governmental organizations, working together to eliminate tuberculosis . In the Global Plan to Stop Tuberculosis 2011-2015, developed by the Alliance on the basis of the WHO Stop TB Strategy, a road map is drawn up to reduce the prevalence of this disease and the deaths it causes before of 2015 by half with respect to the levels of 1990 .

Video Medicine: World Tuberculosis (TB) Day: Let's Unite to End TB, 24th March 2017 (May 2024).