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In the
Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Message
from Dr Hussein A. Gezairy
Regional Director,
WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region
on the occasion of
World Tuberculosis Day 24 March 2007
Among
all communicable diseases, tuberculosis is still the
number one killer of adults in the WHO Eastern
Mediterranean Region. A disease that is totally
preventable and curable is responsible for not less
than 111 000 deaths in the Region and 2 million in
the world every year. This is in addition to the
absolutely avoidable suffering of tuberculosis
patient’s families, relatives and communities who
are directly and indirectly affected by this
disease. This tragic situation cannot be allowed to
go on any longer.
Today, the regional situation
with regard to the 2005 global targets––70% case
detection rate and 85% treatment success rate––is
clear. Five countries in the Region, namely Lebanon,
Morocco, Oman, Somalia and Tunisia, have met the
targets. Bahrain and the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya have
met the 70% case detection target. This is good
news, and indicates that the current tuberculosis
control strategy is effective. However, the fact
still remains that at the regional level, we have
unfortunately failed to achieve the global targets,
particularly for case detection. Our case detection
rate is only 44%. In other words, an estimated
284 000 tuberculosis patients in this region
were missed in 2005. Those people therefore cannot
access good quality tuberculosis care and their
families, relatives and communities will continue to
suffer unnecessarily unless immediate and
ground-breaking measures are taken to save them.
The global theme of World Tuberculosis Day this year is:
“TB anywhere is TB everywhere”. This is a very
pro-active theme and is actually a reflection of the
situation in the Region. It is a theme aiming at
correcting the common misconception about
tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is not a disease of the
past. Tuberculosis is not only the “poor people’s
problem”. Finding and treating tuberculosis patients
is not solely the responsibility of Ministries of
Health. If tuberculosis is anywhere, then
tuberculosis can be found everywhere. The national
tuberculosis programmes alone cannot possibly detect
and provided care for all tuberculosis cases, even
if they double or triple their efforts.
The only plausible solution for the
stagnant situation we have reached in the Region is
partnership. This partnership will actively engage
all stakeholders including governments, National
Tuberculosis
Programmes, independent experts, nongovernmental
organizations and faith groups, donors, academia,
celebrities, media, communities and patients, social
workers, and financial institutions in the regional
fight against tuberculosis.
Only through a joint, effective and strong
collaborative partnership will we have the power to
reach a wider audience, to overcome the challenges
facing us and eventually put an end to the suffering
from tuberculosis in the Region.
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