World TB Day, 24 March 2018: “Wanted: Leaders for a TB-free world”
Each year we commemorate World TB Day on March 24 to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of tuberculosis (TB) and to step up efforts to end the global TB epidemic. The date marks the day in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes TB, which opened the way towards diagnosing and curing this disease.
Despite significant progress over the last decades, TB continues to be the top infectious killer worldwide, claiming over 4 500 lives a day. The emergence of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) poses a major health security threat and could risk gains made in the fight against TB.
The theme: “Wanted: Leaders for a TB-free world”
The theme of World TB Day 2018 – “Wanted: Leaders for a TB-free world”- focuses on building commitment to end TB, not only at the political level with Heads of State and Ministers of Health, but at all levels from Mayors, Governors, parliamentarians and community leaders, to people affected with TB, civil society advocates, health workers, doctors or nurses, NGOs and other partners. All can be leaders of efforts to end TB in their own work or terrain.
This is a critical theme, given the political importance of the upcoming UN General Assembly high-level meeting on TB this year, which will bring together Heads of State in New York. It follows on from a very successful Ministerial Conference on Ending TB in Moscow on 16-17 November, 2017 which resulted in high-level commitments from Ministers and other leaders from 120 countries to accelerate progress to end TB.
World TB Day provides the opportunity to shine the spotlight on the disease and mobilize political and social commitment for accelerate progress to end TB. (WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION)
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Key facts
- Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide.
- In 2016, 10.4 million people fell ill with TB, and 1.7 million died from the disease (including 0.4 million among people with HIV). Over 95% of TB deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.
- Seven countries account for 64% of the total, with India leading the count, followed by Indonesia, China, Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria, and South Africa.
- In 2016, an estimated 1 million children became ill with TB and 250 000 children died of TB (including children with HIV associated TB).
- TB is a leading killer of HIV-positive people: in 2016, 40% of HIV deaths were due to TB.
- Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) remains a public health crisis and a health security threat. WHO estimates that there were 600 000 new cases with resistance to rifampicin – the most effective first-line drug, of which 490 000 had MDR-TB. Globally, TB incidence is falling at about 2% per year. This needs to accelerate to a 4–5% annual decline to reach the 2020 milestones of the End TB Strategy.
- An estimated 53 million lives were saved through TB diagnosis and treatment between 2000 and 2016.
- Ending the TB epidemic by 2030 is among the health targets of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Delhi TB Summit: WHO South-East Asia countries commit to intensified efforts, concrete progress to End TB
2018 World TB Day Theme Announced
Open Poster Competition – Public Health Student Association of Nepal
WHO report signals urgent need for greater political commitment to end tuberculosis
64TH National Tuberculosis Day – 13th Mangsir, 2074
TB remains a Public health problem (2015)
National Tuberculosis Programme, NEPAL (2017)
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