TB kills 66,000 Pakistanis every year
By, Jamila Achakzai, Daily Times, January 22, 2008
ISLAMABAD: Tuberculosis (TB), which is claiming over 66,000 lives in Pakistan annually, can be controlled if patients prompt access to the nearest health facility is ensured on appearance of symptoms of the disease, says National Manager for National TB Control Programme (NTBCP) Dr Hassan Sadiq.
Dr Sadiq told the concluding session of a two-day workshop, Communicating for Tuberculosis Control, Strategies, Actions and Outcomes, here in Islamabad that diagnosis and treatment services, which were free of cost at all public health facilities, could save the life of TB patient in eight months duration if they were benefited from in time.
He recommended that by covering mouth, avoiding spitting everywhere and clean lifestyle for the TB patients could help others remained safe from the mycobacterium, the bacteria causing TB. He said that the best prevention was however the early diagnosis and treatment for TB patients. He emphasised that any person with cough more than three weeks must get his/ her sputum examined from the nearest health facility, which was free of cost.
He said that Pakistan was still ranked 6th among 22 high burden countries with incidence of 181 per 100,000 population. He said that TB shares 5.1 per cent of the total national disease burden.
Dr Sadiq said that the federal government run NTBCP with its provincial supporting departments in all four provinces, Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Northern Areas were ensuring free diagnosis and treatment facilities at all public health centres. He said that since the revival of National Programme in 2000, more than 600,000 patients had been registered for treatment, of which 85 per cent successfully completed their treatment.
He said that the NTBCP managed to raise its absorption capacity to Rs 126 million in 2006-07 from mere Rs 26 million in previous year from PSDP allocations.
He said that Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilisation (ACSM) was an essential component of the TB control design in Pakistan which is helping us in setting agendas, raising awareness of specific behavioural issues, increasing knowledge and changing public attitudes toward risk patterns associated with the disease of TB.
The NTBCP chief emphasised the importance of ACSM, saying ACSM can play a critical role in mobilizing communities and individuals to encourage behavioral intentions toward early health seeking behavior and treatment adherence.
He said that the focus of TB control intervention to date in Pakistan had been towards the establishment and strengthening of clinical services around the country.
Dr Sadiq said that Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS), the WHO recommended treatment therapy, had expanded countrywide and 100 per cent coverage of DOTS had been achieved in public sector facilities.
He said that the stage is now set for planning and implementation of a large scale, multi-level, integrated communication intervention to support the increase and sustain resource base at national, provincial and district level, help create and sustain demand and mobilize action at the community level.
Other speakers of the workshop included renowned professionals from public health and corporate communication sectors. The designed curriculum of the workshop uniquely matched good practices of the corporate sector with the public & private sector requirements in health promotion. The participants were presented with case studies from successful communication campaigns for drawing inspiration and improving understanding of how to market social services or actually conduct social marketing.
Source: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C01%5C22%5Cstory_22-1-2008_pg7_55
ISLAMABAD: Tuberculosis (TB), which is claiming over 66,000 lives in Pakistan annually, can be controlled if patients prompt access to the nearest health facility is ensured on appearance of symptoms of the disease, says National Manager for National TB Control Programme (NTBCP) Dr Hassan Sadiq.
Dr Sadiq told the concluding session of a two-day workshop, Communicating for Tuberculosis Control, Strategies, Actions and Outcomes, here in Islamabad that diagnosis and treatment services, which were free of cost at all public health facilities, could save the life of TB patient in eight months duration if they were benefited from in time.
He recommended that by covering mouth, avoiding spitting everywhere and clean lifestyle for the TB patients could help others remained safe from the mycobacterium, the bacteria causing TB. He said that the best prevention was however the early diagnosis and treatment for TB patients. He emphasised that any person with cough more than three weeks must get his/ her sputum examined from the nearest health facility, which was free of cost.
He said that Pakistan was still ranked 6th among 22 high burden countries with incidence of 181 per 100,000 population. He said that TB shares 5.1 per cent of the total national disease burden.
Dr Sadiq said that the federal government run NTBCP with its provincial supporting departments in all four provinces, Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Northern Areas were ensuring free diagnosis and treatment facilities at all public health centres. He said that since the revival of National Programme in 2000, more than 600,000 patients had been registered for treatment, of which 85 per cent successfully completed their treatment.
He said that the NTBCP managed to raise its absorption capacity to Rs 126 million in 2006-07 from mere Rs 26 million in previous year from PSDP allocations.
He said that Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilisation (ACSM) was an essential component of the TB control design in Pakistan which is helping us in setting agendas, raising awareness of specific behavioural issues, increasing knowledge and changing public attitudes toward risk patterns associated with the disease of TB.
The NTBCP chief emphasised the importance of ACSM, saying ACSM can play a critical role in mobilizing communities and individuals to encourage behavioral intentions toward early health seeking behavior and treatment adherence.
He said that the focus of TB control intervention to date in Pakistan had been towards the establishment and strengthening of clinical services around the country.
Dr Sadiq said that Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS), the WHO recommended treatment therapy, had expanded countrywide and 100 per cent coverage of DOTS had been achieved in public sector facilities.
He said that the stage is now set for planning and implementation of a large scale, multi-level, integrated communication intervention to support the increase and sustain resource base at national, provincial and district level, help create and sustain demand and mobilize action at the community level.
Other speakers of the workshop included renowned professionals from public health and corporate communication sectors. The designed curriculum of the workshop uniquely matched good practices of the corporate sector with the public & private sector requirements in health promotion. The participants were presented with case studies from successful communication campaigns for drawing inspiration and improving understanding of how to market social services or actually conduct social marketing.
Source: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C01%5C22%5Cstory_22-1-2008_pg7_55
posted by AIDS-Care-Watch at 2:43 pm
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