The township health department and NGOs will identify and help TB and HIV patients in Kyaikto Township, Mon State, according to the Kyaikto Township General Hospital.
The hospital announced this as good news for HIV/TB patients. NGOs to join this campaign in identifying and helping HIV/TB patients include IOM and Myittar Cetana.
This campaign will help both outpatients and inpatients who cannot afford X-rays, blood tests, diagnosis and travel costs. Patients with lung diseases will be provided with necessary nutrition until they are fully recovered, the hospital said.
According to the WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2023, Myanmar is one of the 30 high-burden countries with the highest number of drug-resistant TB patients. WHO estimated that the rate of new TB cases and deaths in Myanmar in 2022 was 475 and 80 per 100,000 population, respectively.
TB activities are being carried out in accordance with the National Strategic Plan 2021-2025, led by the Department of Health’s National Tuberculosis Programme, in collaboration with local and foreign partners, and more government funds have been allocated for TB drug procurement since 2015-16 fiscal year, the ministry said. — MT/ZN/ED
