- According to WHO Worldwide, TB is the second leading infectious killer after COVID-19 (above HIV and AIDS).
- In 2022, an estimated 10.6 million people fell ill with TB worldwide, including 5.8 million men, 3.5 million women and 1.3 million children.
Image: FILE
A new investment case for TB will be launched this Sunday as the world marks Tuberculosis Day.
WHO director general Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus said the launch is expected to help countries advocate for more resources to close gaps in access to services for prevention and care.
"The investment case outlines the health and economic rationale for investing in evidence-based, WHO-recommended interventions, as part of every country’s journey towards universal health coverage," Dr Tedros said on Thursday during a weekly media brief.
According to the UN agency, TB kills over 3500 people and the disease strikes close to 30,000 more each day.
"Last year, we saw a significant increase in access to services for diagnosis and treatment, the highest number of people diagnosed since WHO began global TB monitoring in 1995," Dr Tedros said.
"This World TB Day, we remember the millions of people who lose their lives to TB every year and the millions who continue to struggle daily against this preventable and curable disease."
Stop TB Partnership Kenya and other lobby groups have been pushing for the removal of taxes on all health commodities especially TB, Malaria and HIV drugs that are zero-rated.
Each year, the world commemorates World TB Day to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of TB and to step up efforts to end the global TB epidemic.
The theme of World TB Day 2024 - ‘Yes! We can end TB!’ – conveys a message of hope that getting back on track turn the tide against the 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.
According to WHO Worldwide, TB is the second leading infectious killer after COVID-19 (above HIV and AIDS).
In 2022, an estimated 10.6 million people fell ill with TB worldwide, including 5.8 million men, 3.5 million women and 1.3 million children.
The WHO says global efforts to combat TB have saved an estimated 75 million lives since the year 2000.
Common symptoms of TB include; prolonged cough, weakness, fatigue, weight loss, fever and night sweats.
In 2022, the largest number of new TB cases occurred in WHO’s South-East Asian region (46 per cent), followed by the African Region (23 per cent) and the Western Pacific (18 per cent).