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 Tuberculosis (TB) treatment has saved the lives of more than 22 million people, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) “Global tuberculosis report 2013″ published recently. The report also reveals that the number of people ill with TB fell in 2012 to 8.6 million, with global TB deaths also decreasing to 1.3 million.
The new data confirm that the world is on track to meet the 2015 UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target of reversing TB incidence, along with the target of a 50% reduction in the mortality rate by 2015 (compared to 1990). It details the key challenges and ways to overcome them.
Bangladesh is one of the 22 high burden countries that is facing uphill battle to cope with it. The country has a huge number of drug resistant TB and missed cases that were with either non diagnosed or diagnosed but not reported. So the actual number of cases will be more than counted.
Five priority actions
The WHO report recommends five priority actions that could make a rapid difference between now and 2015.
* Reach the 3 million TB cases missed in national notification systems by expanding access to quality testing and care services across all relevant public, private or community based providers, including hospitals and NGOs which serve large proportions of populations at risk.
* Address with urgency the MDR-TB crisis. Failure to test and treat all those ill with MDR-TB carries public health risks and grave consequences for those affected. High-level political commitment, ownership by all stakeholders, adequate financing and increased cooperation are needed to solve bottlenecks in drug supply and build capacity to deliver quality care.
* Intensify and build on TB-HIV successes to get as close as possible to full antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage for people co-infected with TB and HIV.
* Increase domestic and international financing to close the resource gaps — now estimated at about US$ 2 billion per year — for an effective response to TB in low- and middle-income countries. Full replenishment of the Global Fund is essential, given that most low-income countries rely heavily on international donor funding, with the Global Fund providing around 75% of financial resources in these countries.
* Accelerate rapid uptake of new tools — through technology transfer and operational research to ensure that countries and communities most at risk benefit from these innovations.

Source - thedailystar.net