DHAKA, Aug 6, 2018 (BSS) – Health and Family Welfare Minister Mohammed Nasim today urged all government and non-government organisations to work unitedly for eliminating the deadly disease Tuberculosis (TB) from the country.
“All have to work together to eliminate TB from the country to help achieving health-related Sustainable Development Goal (SDG),” he said.
He was speaking as the chief guest at a roundtable discussion on “Progress Towards End TB: Progress and Challenges Towards Achieving SDG Targets” at BRAC Center in city’s Mohakhali area.
National Tuberculosis Control Programme of Bangladesh, the Daily Ittefaq and BRAC jointly organised the programme.
“We have tremendous achievements in health sector since last few years… And if we work sincerely from our respective positions it would not be impossible to eliminate TB from the country within six years,” Nasim said.
Dr Rupali Shishir Banu presented the key note papers while senior reporter of the Daily Ittefaq Asifur Rahman moderated the discussion.
National Anti-tuberculosis Association of Bangladesh (NATAB) president Mozaffar Hossain Paltu, Editor of the Daily Ittefaq Tasmima Hossain, Director of BRAC’s Communicable Diseases, WASH and DMCC programmes Dr M Akramul Islam also spoke, among others.
For preventing the disease, the speakers laid emphasized on stopping transmission of TB from one person to another. Stressing the need of early detection, they said it is important to detect TB patients as soon as possible and give them proper treatment.
Bangladesh has high rates of migration and the transient population faces poverty, overcrowding and poorly ventilated living and working conditions, all of which allow TB to spread. Furthermore, there is a general lack of awareness about TB infection among many parts of the population.
They stressed good quality of care services specially for under-privileged people, adequate system for screening, sufficient funding and staffing.