Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. UN Photo/Mark Garten
In a press release, the Secretary General said, “For a long time, tuberculosis has not been given enough attention- this ignorance has led to unnecessary suffering to which should not have existed in the first place.”
He recalled in 2010 when approximately nine million people worldwide had the tuberculosis disease, whereby 1.4 million people died, while 95 per cent of deaths occurred in developing countries. These figures indicate that TB is the second infectious disease in the world.
“The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that our joint effort to reduce TB infection has helped to reduce mortality rate by 40 per cent since 1990. 46 million people have been cured from 1985 due to the efforts of the United Nation, governments, donors, civil society, private partners, health professionals, and tens of thousands of health department staff and families and affected communities,” he stated.
He continued; “Tuberculosis causes substantial blow to families and communities. Millions of children have lost parents. Children living with family members affected are more likely to be hit the hardest by the disease. This year we intend to expand the understanding of how to deal with children affected by this disease.” The Secretary General pointed out on how important it is to help those who have no resources to deal with the disease by giving them care and treatment.
“We can make big changes if we take appropriate measures. We know how to destroy all forms of tuberculosis, even the chronic one which has affected a lot of countries. Where we have taken steps, the number of victims has decreased significantly,” he asserted.
By HASINA MJINGO, Tanzania Daily News
