Govt committed to end TB by 2030: Kiani

ISLAMABAD:Minister for National Health Services Regulation and Coordination Aamer Mehmood Kiani Thursday said the government was committed to end Tuberculosis (TB) from the country by 2030 in line with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Talking to a high level mission from WHO Headquarters and Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office, called on him, he said TB is one of the priority diseases for prevention and control and the government was striving to achieve strategic goals to stop TB.

He said the government had placed the TB treatment and prevention on its agenda by increasing the commitment of all stakeholders to end TB by 2030. He said the government was making since efforts towards ending the TB epidemic in Pakistan by increasing public awareness in the threat of TB.

He said the government was also addressing the issue of stigma and discrimination against TB patients.

He said the government was mobilizing domestic resources to fight the disease and reducing catastrophic burden on TB affected families.

“We are in continuous struggle in setting the strategic directions to find the missing 140,000 TB patients and positioning ourselves to tackle the emerging threat of MDR-TB.Some of the measures have already been taken and some are planned."

He informed the delegation about revamping the Lady Health Workers programme to improve community level essential health services.

The minister said multi-sectoral collaboration will be developed with other line ministries and departments for an effective response regarding TB control by adopting ‘One Health’ approach for disease control.

He said the government is expending health Insurance to all districts of Pakistan to cover the poorest families against catastrophic health expenditure.

He said the ministry has established a national integrated disease surveillance and response (IDSR) system for prompt and efficient response during disease outbreaks.