Tuberculosis (TB) is as old as mankind and continues to haunt man despite advances in diagnosis and management of the disease. Globally, TB is one of the major ten causes of death. In 2016, 10.4 million people had TB disease and 1.7 million died. More than 95% of TB deaths were in low & middle income countries. According to the 2015 Uganda National TB prevalence survey, the incidence of TB was at 201/100,000 population for all TB cases & prevalence was 253/100,000 population.
Each year, World TB Day is commemorated on March 24 to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of TB & step up efforts to end the global TB epidemic. The date marks the day in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes TB, and thus opened the way towards diagnosing and curing the disease. The theme of World TB Day 2018 “Wanted: Leaders for a TB-free world” focuses on building commitment to end TB, not only at the political level with Heads of State and Ministers of Health, but at all levels of leadership, and across partnerships and stakeholders. All can be leaders of efforts to end TB in their work or terrain.
In Uganda, the national event for the World TB Day was hosted at the Boma Grounds in Arua District in the West Nile region of Uganda. The theme was ‘Leaders for a TB-free Uganda’ and the slogan was ‘Act to End TB today’. Arua District was chosen because it has one of the largest numbers of TB case notifications in the country. Activities were also going on in various areas around the country including in Kampala.
The Guest of Honor for this event was the State Minister for Health General Duties. The Minister asked for commitment from all leaders in order to end TB in Uganda. She also launched the enhanced pediatric TB formulations and short course regimen at Arua Regional Referral Hospital. In attendance were several other stakeholders such as implementing partners and district leaders.