The World Health Organization or WHO has requested for an increase in investment for TB screening and prevention programs, after a recent study revealed that for every dollar invested, there’s a potential benefit of $39.
The latest report was based on studies conducted in Brazil, Georgia, Kenya, and South Africa regarding the expenses and advantages of TB screening coupled with TB preventive treatment.
“The investment case outlines the health and economic rationale for investing in evidence-based, WHO-recommended interventions on TB screening and prevention that can contribute to advancing universal health coverage,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Today, we have the knowledge, tools and political commitment that can end this millennia-old disease that remains one of the world’s top infectious killers.”
The report comes ahead of World Tuberculosis Day to be celebrated under the theme ‘Yes! We can end TB’ on March 24.
The global health agency highlighted that even small investments can produce substantial health and financial advantages. It stated that an additional investment of between $0.28 and $1.11 per capita per year could reduce the burden of TB.
The new investment study aims to aid countries in achieving the targets set by Heads of State at the 2023 UN High-Level Meeting on TB.
According to the report, over 10 million people will develop TB between 2024 and 2050, and more than 1.3 million people will die from TB in the four countries studied.
“The next five years will be critical for ensuring that the political momentum we have now is translated into concrete actions towards reaching global TB targets,” said Dr. Tereza Kasaeva, Director of WHO’s Global Tuberculosis Programme. “WHO will continue to provide global leadership for the TB response, working with all stakeholders until we reach and save every person, family, and community impacted by this deadly disease.”
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