Every year Stop TB Partnership and its partners unite to raise public awareness of the devastating health, social, and economic impacts of TB and call for an end to this epidemic.
A seminar was organized by the Stop TB Partnership Pakistan in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Sindh and Pfizer Pakistan to commemorate this day. The event was attended by leading stakeholders including member NGOs, TB survivors, members of academia, and print and electronic media.
Dr. Sharaf Ali Shah, Vice Chair of Stop TB Pakistan, updated the audience on the current situation of TB in Pakistan. He informed that 611,000 estimated people fell ill due to TB in Pakistan in 2021 whereas 48000 HIV-negative and 2100 HIV-positive people died due to TB in the country, and only 55% of cases were notified. Highlighting the reasons for low TB case notification he said that poor understanding of TB and its symptoms (lack of awareness), poor knowledge about where to seek care and misconceptions around anti-TB drugs availability at public sector health facilities, cost of transportation and loss of daily wages are some of the main factors.
Throwing light on HIV TB co-infection, Dr. Afshan Isani, Provincial TB Advisor CDC Sindh, said that Tuberculosis and HIV, both infections facilitate each other. HIV-infected persons are at it increased risk of acquiring TB and management of TB HIV co-infected cases is more challenging. She said that the number of new HIV cases is increasing every year. In 2022, about 30,000 new HIV cases were registered in the country.
Dr. Salim Kazmi, Senior Technical Advisor CDC, informed that globally a lot is being done to implement the strategy that aims to end TB. Some recent developments include reducing the duration of treatment for sensitive TB in certain cases to four months and for Drug-resistant TB to six months.
Sharing his thoughts on ‘Filling the gaps of promoting of political will, Patient Advocacy Groups and local funding’, Dr. Karam Shah Senior Advisor Stop TB Pakistan, said that there is an urgent need to engage policymakers at district, provincial and federal levels to promote political commitment, to declare TB as a health priority and to allocate adequate domestic funding. He added that different strategies could be used, including a Parliamentary caucus, and involvement of media like electronic, print, and social media.
He highlighted that according to the latest WHO Global Tuberculosis report 2022, total available funding for TB in Pakistan in 2021 was 47 million US dollars out of which domestic funding was only 8% while 92% of total funding came through international donors (mainly through Global Fund to fight against AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria). Besides low allocation of domestic funds, timely release of funds without cuts and proper utilization of allocated funds are common issues. Total dependence on international funding raises serious concerns about the sustainability of TB control services.
The symposium also had an interactive discussion comprising panelists of senior members of academia Prof. Iftekhar Ahmed and Dr. Saifullah from Dow University of Health Sciences, Dr. Rumina, and Prof Nisar Rao from Aga Khan University and Dr. Nausheen Ahmed from Jinnah Postgraduate Medical College. The panelist stressed the need to update the medical curriculum regarding TB. Dr. Ali Akbar Dahri Additional Director of CDC said that his department was in the process of developing a provincial strategic plan to end TB.
Prof. DS Akram, a senior pediatrician, commented that the diagnosis of TB in children is more complex, unfortunately, about 12% of our TB patients are children. He said there was a need for more Genexpert testing on stool samples and dispersible tablets for children. Prof Shahna Urooj and Prof Rafique Khanani stressed the need for the widespread availability of rapid diagnostic tools.
‘Speaking on the occasion, the country manager of Pfizer Pakistan, S.M. Wajeeh said ‘The growing number of Tuberculosis cases in Pakistan signifies the urgency for interventions at multiple levels. We are glad to have partners such as STOP TB Pakistan and National TB Control Program with whom we share a common vision to end TB in the country.’ He further added that Pfizer has been actively working to raise awareness of TB through various channels including social media platforms. The campaign ‘Humara Azam TB Khatam’ aims to educate the masses about TB symptoms and its prevention while clearing the misconceptions associated with it.
Stop TB Pakistan thanked Pfizer Pakistan for providing logistic support.
