Beware: This Curable Disease Landed on WHO’s ‘Deadly Epidemic’ List

Health authorities worldwide need to move much faster to prevent, detect and treat a
Share:

Health authorities worldwide need to move much faster to prevent, detect and treat a “deadly epidemic” of tuberculosis if they are to reduce TB infections and deaths by 2030, the World Health Organization warned on Thursday. 

In its annual report on tackling TB, a highly contagious lung disease which kills more people each year than HIV and malaria combined, the WHO said progress had been dismal and called for “bold political commitment and increased funding”. 

Without it, the world would continue to chase the epidemic rather than get on top of it, it said. 

“The dismal progress in the TB response is a tragedy for the millions of people suffering from this disease,” the director of the WHO’s TB program, Mario Raviglione, said in a statement. 

“To save more lives now, we must get newly recommended rapid tests, drugs and regimens to those who need them. Current actions and investments fall far short of what is needed.” 

There were an estimated 10.4 million new TB cases worldwide in 2015, the report found, with six countries accounting for 60 percent of those—first India, then Indonesia, China, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa. 

Some 1.8 million people died from TB last year, of whom 0.4 million were co-infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS. 

The report noted that while global TB deaths have fallen by 22 percent between 2000 and 2015, the disease was still one of the top 10 causes of death globally in 2015. 

Greg Elder of the international medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said the figures constituted “a shockingly bad report card”. 

“Countries are failing to diagnose and treat millions of people with TB,” he said in a statement. “Governments need to get their heads out of the sand and realize that TB is not a disease consigned to the 1800s; we see and treat TB in our clinics every day, and it’s a deadly threat to all of us.” 

The WHO’s Director General Margaret Chan said: “There must be a massive scale-up of efforts, or countries will continue to run behind this deadly epidemic.” 

The report warned of a widening gap between the finances needed for TB care and prevention in poor and middle-income countries, and actual funds available. A $2-billion shortfall now, from some $8.3 billion needed for 2016, will widen to £6 billion by 2020 if funding is not increased. 

About 84 percent of the TB funding available in low and middle-income countries in 2016 was domestic, but this was mostly accounted for by the large and relatively wealthy BRICS countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. 

Other less wealthy countries rely heavily on international donor financing, with more than 75 percent coming from The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. {eoa}

© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.

+ posts
Share:

Related topics:

See an error in this article?

Send us a correction

To contact us or to submit an article

Click and play our featured shows

Pastor Troy Brewer

2024: A Year of Dunamis Power

In an exclusive Charisma News interview with Pastor Troy Brewer, founding and senior pastor of OpenDoor Church in Burleson, Texas, a captivating revelation for the forthcoming year, 2024, has been unveiled. The dialogue not only sheds light on the prophetic...

Woke company logos

2023: The Year Corporate Wokeness Crashed

In 2023, the business world witnessed a stark contrast between companies that embraced leftist ideologies and those that pushed back with traditional values. While corporate giants like Disney and Target suffered major financial losses due to their controversial marketing strategies,...

Woke company logos

2023: The Year Corporate Wokeness Crashed

In 2023, the business world witnessed a stark contrast between companies that embraced leftist ideologies and those that pushed back with traditional values. While corporate giants like Disney and Target suffered major financial losses due to their controversial marketing strategies,...

Warrior

2023: The Year of the Digital Jehu

In a prophetic word for 2023, Alexander Pagani shared that this past year would be the year that the digital Jehu would rise up with a boldness for the gospel. But who fit that description this year? Just as Jehu...

Warrior

2023: The Year of the Digital Jehu

In a prophetic word for 2023, Alexander Pagani shared that this past year would be the year that the digital Jehu would rise up with a boldness for the gospel. But who fit that description this year? Just as Jehu...

Satanic display in Iowa Statehouse

Navy Vet Who Destroyed Satanist Symbol Speaks Out

A man who made national headlines for tearing down and beheading a satanic display in the Iowa State Capitol believes his actions were the “right thing to do.” “We should not tolerate Satan,” Michael Cassidy told CBN Digital, explaining why...

Satanic display in Iowa Statehouse

Navy Vet Who Destroyed Satanist Symbol Speaks Out

A man who made national headlines for tearing down and beheading a satanic display in the Iowa State Capitol believes his actions were the “right thing to do.” “We should not tolerate Satan,” Michael Cassidy told CBN Digital, explaining why...

The nativity scene

Church Faces International Backlash Over Heretical Nativity Scene

A church in Italy has recently come under fire for its “dangerous” and “blasphemous” nativity scene featuring a second woman—in place of Joseph—alongside the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus. The Church of Saints Peter and Paul, located in Capocastello di...

The nativity scene

Church Faces International Backlash Over Heretical Nativity Scene

A church in Italy has recently come under fire for its “dangerous” and “blasphemous” nativity scene featuring a second woman—in place of Joseph—alongside the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus. The Church of Saints Peter and Paul, located in Capocastello di...

1 2 3 4 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
Scroll to Top