Introduction:
World TB Day, falling on March 24th each year, is designed to build public awareness that tuberculosis today remains an epidemic in much of the world, causing the deaths of nearly one-and-a-half million people each year, mostly in developing countries. The day was approved in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch astounded the scientific community by announcing that he had discovered the cause of tuberculosis, the TB bacillus. Koch's discovery opened the way towards diagnosing and curing TB.
Vision:
Ending the TB epidemic by 2030 is among the health targets of the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals.
Facts about the disease:
- Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the great challenges facing the world communities and one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide.
- Six countries account for 60% of the total, with India leading the count, followed by Indonesia, China, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa.
- n spite of the great efforts exerted in this regard, the percent of reducing the incidence is still unsatisfactory and the need is to accelerate the annual decline to achieve the strategy of ending TB by 2020.
- There is an enormous number that have not been treated or even diagnosed with TB despite their illness, either due to lack of awareness, or financial strait, or for some other reason, including the elderly, women, children, people with severe poverty, AIDS patients, etc.
- Globally, in 2015, because TB medicines are not used properly and regularly as recommended by the doctor, TB resistance has spread to multiple antiretroviral drugs, and about one in nine people with resistant bacteria have been successfully treated.
Statistics:
In 2015, 10.4 million people fell ill with TB and 1.8 million died from the disease (including 0.4 million among people with HIV). It is founded that 480,000 people developed multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). And over 95% of TB deaths occur in low and middle-income countries.
In 2015, an estimated 1 million children became ill with TB and 170 000 children died of TB (excluding children with HIV).
Objectives of World Tuberculosis (TB) Day:
- Raising awareness of TB throughout the world.
- Providing prevention means against TB and awareness about them.
- Providing health care.
- Renewing political and social commitment to further achievements in the efforts to eradicate TB.
Official Date:
Globally: March 24th, 2017
Locally: Jumada al-Akhira 25th, 1438H
Theme of the World Tuberculosis (TB) Day
Unite to End TB: Leave no one behind
Targeted Groups:
- Patients with active tuberculosis, their families and those in contact with them for a long period of time.
- Patients suffering from latent tuberculosis (TB) infection.
- Workers in the health care sector, who are in direct contact with tuberculosis patients.
- The elderly.
- People suffering from diseases of the weak immune system, such as HIV/AIDS patients.
- People with low income, who live in unhealthy environments.
- The public.
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