The world is fast losing its battle against tuberculosis (TB), which has become the biggest infectious killer globally, claiming 1,5 million people every year, Stop TB Partnership has said.
By Phyllis Mbanje
It is believed 70% of the global TB and HIV and Aids co-infections were in sub-Saharan Africa with Zimbabwe ranking 20th among countries in this category.
In the absence of a clear investment plan and a complete overhaul in how this disease is tackled, TB is unlikely to be eliminated until the end of the 22nd century, and the world will miss the recently announced sustainable development goal (SDG) to end TB by 2030.
“It is a global disgrace and human tragedy that TB — a curable disease — is killing around 1,5 million people per year and nobody speaks about ending it,” Stop TB Partnership executive director Lucica Ditiu said.
The TB bacterium is spread through droplets in the air when an infected person coughs sneezes or talks and exposure to someone with untreated TB increases the chances of infection.
Vulnerable populations include mining communities, children, people living with HIV, injecting drug users, prisoners, homeless people, indigenous populations and migrants, among others.
In Zimbabwe, the bulk of the population live in abject poverty and in crowded and poorly ventilated homes, a situation which leads to TB patients not recovering.
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During last year’s World TB Day commemorations, Health minister David Parirenyatwa said he was concerned by the number of missed TB cases in the country.
According to the World Health Organisation estimates Zimbabwe missed 30 000 TB cases in 2013 alone.
Executive director of the Global Fund, Mark Dybul, said the launch of the Global Plan 2016-2020 would create the path towards an accelerated impact on TB epidemics and ultimately towards ending TB.
“If we are serious about ending TB — considering that it is curable in just six months — we really need a shift in thinking, ambition and action at every level to scale up,” he said.
UN Special Envoy for TB, Eric Goosby added: “There is no doubt that we are facing serious barriers in the fight against TB.”
The Stop TB Partnership was established in 1998 and comprises a network of international organisations, countries, donors from the public and private sectors, governmental and nongovernmental organisations and individuals.
Its aim is to realise the goal of eliminating TB as a public health problem and, ultimately, to obtain a world free of TB.
