March 24 is World Tuberculosis Day. The WHO has made it a priority given its spread in Asian (61% of cases) and African (23%) countries.
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Tuberculosis is a formidable killer. In sub-Saharan Africa, one of the most affected regions of the world, nearly 2 million cases are recorded per year.
Infection is one of the top ten causes of death worldwide. In 2015, 1.8 million people died of tuberculosis, among the 10.4 million who contracted it. Six countries including India, Indonesia, China, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa, account for more than 60% of cases of infection.
More worryingly, it is estimated that 480,000 people have developed so-called multi-resistant tuberculosis in the world
However, WHO’s efforts to curb the infection begins to pay off. They are believed to have saved 49 million lives between 2000 and 2015. The incidence of the disease has fallen by nearly 1.5% each year since 2000.
However, actions still need to be taken to reach the objective set by the WHO of 4 to 5% annual reduction by 2020.
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End TB by 2035
WHO again this year calls on all countries to show solidarity to help develop aid and fight against tuberculosis.
It focuses on populations that are highly vulnerable to infection and have little access to health care, especially migrants.
To defeat this disease in Africa, “BCG must be made compulsory,” Dr Tano Sidiki, who was in Abidjan, told VOA Africa.
The “Global Strategy to End Tuberculosis” hopes to end the global epidemic “by reducing the number of deaths by 95% and the incidence by 90% between 2015 and 2035” and ensuring that no more family does not bear catastrophic costs associated with tuberculosis.
- Tuberculosis is one of the top 10 causes of death in the world.
- In 2015, 10.4 million people contracted this disease and 1.8 million died from it (including 0.4 million also with HIV). More than 95% of deaths from tuberculosis occur in low- and middle-income countries.
- In 2015, an estimated 1 million children developed tuberculosis and 170,000 died from it (excluding those with HIV).
- Tuberculosis is the leading killer of HIV-positive people: in 2015, 35% of deaths from HIV-positive people were due to tuberculosis.
- Globally, it is estimated that in 2015, 480,000 people developed multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-tuberculosis).
- The incidence of tuberculosis has declined on average by 1.5% per year since 2000. The trend needs to be accelerated to achieve an annual reduction of 4% to 5% and reach the targets set for 2020 in the WHO strategy to end tuberculosis.
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