 |
| |
WEEKLY
SECTIONS |
 |
|
 |
| Concerted efforts stressed to fight TB |
|
|
|
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Noor Aftab
Islamabad
The participants of a consultative meeting on Monday underlined the need for concerted efforts to fight tuberculosis, a fatal disease that is again spreading fast, especially in rural parts of the country.
National TB Control Programme (NTP) organised the two-day consultative meeting with media persons on “Stop TB activities” here in coordination with Mercy Corps and the Global Fund.
The participants recommended mass awareness campaign, enhanced coordination between health officials and media persons and involvement of all segments of society in the fight against the disease.
The media persons who attended the consultative programme vowed to put in their best efforts to highlight and project the efforts purely aiming at reducing the incidences of the disease in the country.
Dr Muhammad Tariq, technical advisor to NTP, during his presentation on the programme said that overall objective of NTP is to reduce mortality, morbidity and disease transmission so that TB is no longer a public health problem.
The government declared tuberculosis a national emergency in March 2001 and started pursuing an effective plan to control the disease, he said. He said the steady progress has been made from 2000 onwards to improve the case detection and treatment success rate by emphasizing on quality assurance of smear microscopy, drug management, community mobilization and involving private sector for service delivery.
Dr Tariq said advocacy, communication and social mobilization (ACSM) is an integral part of all programmatic components of NTP that focuses on improving case detection and treatment adherence, combating stigma and empowering TB patients.
NTP is going to launch a nationwide campaign in the print and electronic media to create awareness among the people about tuberculosis. The title song of the campaign was played during the consultation that has been written by famous poet Amjad Islam Amjad. Many popular singers gave their melodious voice to the song including Ghulam Ali, Abrarul Haq, Jawad Ahmad and Shabnam Majeed.
Dr Noor Ahmad Baloch, national manager of NTP, said the Stop TB strategy focuses on pursuance of quality DOTS expansion and enhancement, engaging all medical care providers and empowering the patients.
He said the health system would be strengthened by launching curriculum in the medical colleges based on Stop TB strategy and development of drug management guidelines.
Referring to efforts currently underway with the help of the World Health Organization (WHO), he said an ambitious plan has been launched to control tuberculosis that envisages training of local healthcare workers, provision of free treatment and enhancement of public awareness.
He said the treatment of TB requires continued medication for eight consecutive months and hundreds of health outlets across the country provide free medicines to TB patients, thereby improving their chances of recovery.
He said it is responsibility of individuals and organizations working both in the public and private sectors to act together and mobilize the requisite financial resources and moral support to empower the fight against tuberculosis.
caption
ISLAMABAD: NTP National Manager Dr Noor Ahmad Baloch addressing the consultative meeting. — Hanif Khattak
|
|
|
| Back
| Send
this story to Friend | Print
Version |
|
|
|
ISSN 1563-9479 
