ISLAMABAD: March 24 each year is commemorated as Tuberculosis (TB) Day with the aim to increase awareness among the public regarding this epidemic disease, however Pakistani health ministry did not organise a single awareness seminar in this regard, Daily Times has learnt.
Besides this, the country’s health sector is facing a number of challenges and irregularities particularly in respect of leading National TB Control Programme (NTP) after the 18th constitutional amendment in 2012.
According to the available information, Pakistan has an estimated 510,000 new TB cases emerging each year and the country is ranked fifth in this regard.
The Global Fund is a financing institution, providing support to around 13 countries including Pakistan in response to three diseases including TB, HIV/AIDS and malaria.
The Global Fund stated that the country is appraised to have the fourth-highest prevalence of multidrug-resistant TB globally. With the support of Global Fund and World Health Organisation, around 1,500 laboratories, 5,000 treatment sites and selected private clinics have been established where free of cost treatment facilities are provided.
The fund also predicted that there would be around 1.5 million more such cases by the end of 2019 for treatment. The country is receiving funding of millions each year since 2006 from the Global Fund which is being increased every year. For instance it was $300 million last year while $3.5 million have been allocated for 2018.
Health experts say that despite all these millions of dollars, so many people in the country live with the disease without treatment and continue to transmit the infection to others before succumbing themselves.
They said that TB has devastating health, social and economic consequences. It kills more people than any other infectious disease.
The sources in the health ministry said that despite heavy funding, no adequate arrangements at policy making level has been made by the authorities concerned.
Moreover, sources added, after the 18th constitutional amendment, the health sector is facing a number of challenges. As per amendment, all affairs related to health and education were shifted to the provinces.
A senior official of the federal health ministry requesting anonymity, said that despite the presence of a central authority, the provinces are not performing excellently. For example, he said, the Global Fund disburses funding separately to each provincial management that yields irregularities and embezzlements over there.
TB is that disease which affects people all across the world. The main symptoms of the disease are coughing for more than two weeks, spitting blood, night sweats, weakness, feeling tired, losing weight and a decreased appetite. According to a research, if a TB patient is not diagnosed properly and the disease remains untreated, over time, it spreads onto 10 to 15 healthy people in one year.
When approached by Daily Times, the federal health ministry spokesperson did not respond to the given version regarding massive loopholes in the devised strategies to deal with this perilous disease.
Published in Daily Times, March 25th 2018.
