Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Ms Ummy Mwalimu Home News
TUBERCULOSIS (TB) is reportedly one of the biggest health challenges facing the country as the disease kills an estimated 12,000 people annually.
“We need to eliminate stigma and ensure all affected people have access to care in order to reduce the burden of the disease in the country,” Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Ms Ummy Mwalimu, has said.
“Even after a century, TB is still a threat in the country as stipulated in the Maputo Declaration of 2005, she said in marking World TB Day yesterday.
The minister said that total victory over the disease will require a united efforts as ending the epidemic requires actions beyond the ministry of health alone. World TB Day is marked each year on March 24 and this year’s theme is ‘Unite to End TB’.
TB is primarily an airborne disease spread through microscopic droplets that accompany everyday actions such as speaking, sneezing, coughing, laughing or singing.
It spreads most easily where people spend time in close contact with each other.
Ms Mwalimu said each person must do more to engage affected persons and communities as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs), researchers and the private sector.
Regions with many affected people are Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro, Mara, Manyara, Mbeya, Morogoro, Mwanza, Coast, Shinyanga, Tabora and Tanga.
According to the minister, 2015 statistics indicate that these regions contributed 70 per cent of all TB patients diagnosed in the country.
TB prevalence in Tanzania is still high at 295 smear positive cases per 100,000 adult populations, compared to 261 cases per 100,000 adults which were projected by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
National TB and Leprosy, Programme Manager, Ms Beatrice Mutayoba, said the results of the first national TB prevalence survey conducted in 2012/13 by the ministry showed that the disease was still a serious challenge facing the country.
“The survey and other recent evaluations revealed that elderly and people in the villages are more vulnerable to the disease as they can hardly access health services,” she said.
She said since the disease is curable efforts are needed to fight it in line with the global End TB Strategy of 2016-2035.
