Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu on Wednesday said a strong coverage of
the national tuberculosis control programme will help the country achieve
further success in reducing the infection.“The mass media should intensify its surveillance of the activities the
government and other agencies are carrying out to eliminate TB,” he said at
an orientation meeting for journalists on the national tuberculosis control
programme.
Directorate General of Health, Bangladesh Nari Sangbadik Kendra and
non-governmental organization BRAC organized the event at BRAC Centre in
the city.
“In every one lakh people, elevwn are infected with the disease (TB) making
Bangladesh the sixth high-burden nation,” said Asheque Hossain, line
director, national TB-Leprosy programme.
He said Bangladesh’s 92 percent success in implementing DOTS treatment
method has been widely praised by the world community making it the second
highest success rate. Only China is ahead with 94 per cent success.
DOTS, directly-observed treatment short course, is the method followed to
treat TB patients under which grassroots health workers make sure that TB
patients under their care properly follow a six-month antibiotic course.
The government began implementing the DOTS programme in 1993.
Kaosar Afsana, physician and director of BRAC Health, Nutrition and
Population Programme, stressed taking the tuberculosis control programme to
the remotest parts of the country.
“To do that we need to further strengthen the existing public-private
partnership,” she said.
Currently implementing DOTS in 47 districts, BRAC is the largest among 43
NGOs participating as partners of the government in implementing the
programme.
M Mojibur Rahman, national programme consultant, National Tuberculosis
Programme, and Shayla Islam, senior programme specialist Health, Nutrition
& Population Programme, BRAC presented keynote papers.
Pervin Sultana Jhuma, general aecretary, Bangladesh Nari Sangbadik Kendra,
and Md. Nuruzzaman Haque, programme manager, National TB Programme, and M
Akramul Islam, associate director, BRAC HNPP, were also present at the
event moderated by Nasimun Ara Huq, president of Nari Sangbadik Kendra.
Around 50 women journalists along with male journalists working for
different national and local media houses took part in the orientation
meeting. (Source: UNB)
