Doctors examine a patient with tuberculosis in Vietnam. (Photo: VNA) WHO Representative to Vietnam Kidong Park took theoccasion to invite Deputy PM Dam, who is head of the National Committee on Tuberculosis Prevention and Control, toparticipate in this year’s World TB Day global campaign.
The theme of the World TB Day 2021 – “The clock isticking” – conveys the sense that the world is running out of time to act onthe commitments to end TB. The WHO is urging countries to implement tenpriority recommendations to put the world on track to reach agreed targets by2022 and beyond.
It is especially critical in the context of the COVID-19pandemic that has put the End TB progress at risk, and to ensure equitableaccess to prevention and care in line with WHO’s drive towards achievingUniversal Health Coverage.
According to the WHO, TB remains the world’s deadliestinfectious killer. Each day, over 4,000 people lose their lives to TB and closeto 30,000 people fall ill with this preventable and curable disease.
In 2015, world leaders committed to ending the global TBepidemic by 2030 and they reaffirmed their commitment to fighting the diseaseat the UN General Assembly’s High-level Meeting on Fight to End TB in 2018. Itis expected to have around 40 million people worldwide provided with access todiagnosis and treatment by 2022.
Heads of State and Government committed to mobilisesufficient and sustainable financing from all sources for universal access toquality TB prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care. They aim to increaseoverall global investments for ending TB at least 13 billion USD annually by2022.
Vietnam has seen considerable progress in reducing TBburden. The number of new cases founded in 2020 dropped 3.1 percent from170,000 in the previous year./.
VNA
