Statement from Dr. Kent Hill on World TB Day 2006
Even though a cure has existed for more than half a century, tuberculosis remains one of humankind’s greatest scourges. More than one-third of the world’s population is infected with the TB bacterium. On March 24th of each year, we mark World TB Day to increase awareness of this devastating disease.
There has been significant progress in controlling TB in many regions and countries. In Geneva earlier today, the World Health Organization (WHO) released the 2006 Global Report on Tuberculosis which highlights expansion of the DOTS strategy, as well as improvements in the detection and cure of TB. China, India, Indonesia, and The Philippines have made remarkable progress, and other countries such as Bangladesh, Brazil, Pakistan are showing steady improvement as well. We congratulate these countries on their achievements, and we also salute the thousands of health workers in labs and clinics who have made this progress possible.
While we celebrate what has been accomplished, we also recognize that much remains to be done. Worldwide the incidence rate of TB was still growing at .6% during 2004, according to the 2006 WHO report, largely because of inadequate investments in public health systems, TB-HIV/AIDS, and in some areas, emerging TB drug resistance. The picture remains particularly bleak in Sub-Saharan Africa where the TB is being driven by the HIV epidemic, and in the states of the former Soviet Union, drug resistant strains of TB present a significant challenge.
Tuberculosis is a disease that devastates families and hinders economic growth. The WHO estimates that almost nine million people become ill with TB annually and almost two million die. Because TB is an airborne disease, no community is immune from its threat. However, unlike many health threats, TB is a solvable problem. With the use of the tools currently at our disposal, such as the new STOP TB Strategy, and research into new drugs, vaccines and diagnostics, the spread of TB can be stymied.
Tuberculosis can be effectively brought under control across the globe if all nations are equipped with the resources needed to effectively diagnose and treat this disease. Today, the greatest challenge is the lack of trained health workers and access to primary health care services for all people who are affected by the disease, including the poorest and hard to reach.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2006, The Global Plan to STOP TB 2006 – 2015 was launched. The plan is ambitious but doable, and with all partners working together, 50 million people will be treated and 14 million lives will be saved over the next ten years. The plan also calls for the development of the first new tuberculosis treatment regimen in nearly 40 years, a new safe and affordable vaccine to improve upon the existing vaccine and innovative and affordable diagnostic tests for tuberculosis.
The Global Plan incorporates all of the interventions of the new STOP TB Strategy, which goes beyond basic DOTS to include private providers, management of drug resistant TB, empowerment of communities and persons affected by TB, TB/HIV, contributing to health system strengthening – key interventions that must be implemented if we are to achieve the targets set forth in the Global Plan.
Finally, the recently released International Standards of Tuberculosis Care, funded by USAID, explicitly describes widely accepted care that all practitioners, public and private, should provide to patients or persons suspected of having TB. The international standards along with the Companion Patients Charter which defines the rights and responsibilities of patients with respect to TB care will go a long way toward ensuring that patients have access to high quality care and the support needed to stay on treatment.
The main challenge now is to translate plans and strategies into action. It is crucial that all countries and regions move forward to implement the Global Plan, and USAID is ready to work with the countries and the other partners of STOP TB, to help make that plan a reality. For our part, USAID will remain focused on supporting country level TB programs and to providing funding to the Global TB Drug Facility, while continuing investments in new drugs and diagnostics.
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