The Ministry of Health, National Tuberculosis Control Center (NTC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners commemorate the 140th Anniversary of the World Tuberculosis (TB) Day with the theme “Invest to End TB. Save Lives.”
Every day around the world, more than 4000 people die from TB, and nearly 30 000 people fall ill with TB disease, despite it being preventable and treatable. TB is also the leading cause of deaths for people living with HIV and a major contributor to antimicrobial resistance. In Lao PDR, according to estimates from the National TB Program and WHO, there were around 11,000 new TB cases and 2,000 deaths in 2021.
“To be free from TB infection, the Ministry of Health has endorsed the milestones and targets of the WHO End TB Strategy and Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) for a World free of TB, zero deaths, diseases, and suffering by 2030. To achieve this goal, the TB control program was integrated in primary health care across the country,” stated the Health Minister, Dr Bounfeng Phoummalaysith.
“However, there are still a large number of TB patients who have not been diagnosed and treated, which means that TB continues to spread in the community. It is important to seek the support of every individual and partners to ensure that all suspected TB cases have access to health services and immediate treatment, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic,” added Dr Bounfeng.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic progress was being made by the National TB and HIV programs, with more than 8,000 TB cases treated in one year for the first time. Treatment was provided by healthcare workers at all levels and included community-based partners, the main reason why the country achieved the 70% target of WHO estimated new TB cases, in line with the 2020 National TB strategic plan targets and End TB milestones.
However, as COVID-19 cases increased in mid-2021, many of the TB activities, including active case finding campaigns were put on hold. This resulted in only 6,000 TB patients being notified in 2021, with an estimated 2,000 TB patients being missed for diagnosis and treatment due to COVID19 travel restrictions limiting access to health care facilities for patients. These missed patients may face aggravating health conditions and will continue to spread the disease within their family and communities, and an estimated 50% among them will die within two years if their conditions are left undiagnosed and untreated. The Ministry of Health is working hard to maintain essential TB services by decentralizing prevention and care, reaching out to high risk groups and ramping up active case finding.
“Essential TB services must be sustained to ensure that gains made in the fight against TB are not reversed: Health authorities at central, province and district levels should ensure continuity of services for people who need preventive and curative treatment for TB in tandem with the COVID-19 response,” said WHO Representative to Lao PDR, Dr Ying-Ru Jacqueline Lo.
“Even more in the context of COVID-19 and its related stress on the economy, people with TB are among the most poor, marginalized and vulnerable, facing barriers in accessing care, therefore WHO calls for action at all levels to address health inequities for people living with TB and other diseases. This includes fully integrating TB prevention and care package in the National Health Insurance and social protection schemes as soon as possible,” added Dr Lo.
Everyone has a role to play in ending TB – individuals, communities, businesses, governments, and societies. On World TB Day, WHO calls on everyone to keep the promise to accelerate the End TB response to reach the targets set in Sustainable Development Goals, WHO End TB Strategy, and the political declaration of the UN High-Level Meeting on TB; to diagnose and treat 40 million people with TB by 2022 including children and people with drug-resistant TB; to reach 30 million people with TB preventive treatment by 2022 so that those people most-at-risk receive TB preventive treatment, including household contacts of TB patients, children under 5 and people living with HIV.
WHO will continue to engage in wider health financing forecasting for a realistic transition towards sustainable domestic funding with the Ministry of Health, World Bank, Global Fund, international and local donors and partners. We must continue to invest to end TB, and save lives.