An awareness walk was organized by Sindh Health Department and the TB Control Program on Thursday to mark World TB Day. An awareness rally led by Additional Director TB Control Sindh Ali Akbar Dari was taken out from Gymkhana to Hyderabad Press Club.
Addressing the participants at the end of the walk, Ali Akbar Dahri said that every year on March 24, TB Day is celebrated all over the world in the memory of Robert Cox, a scientist, who had discovered the cure and treatment of anti-TB germs in 1882 which was a great achievement. He said that Pakistan ranks fifth in the world in terms of TB incidence.
Dahri said that if a person is infected with TB, there is a risk of infecting 10 to 15 people so the disease is treated free of cost all over the world including Pakistan.
He said that if anyone has any suspicion of this disease, he can immediately contact the nearest diagnostic and treatment center of the department and get his treatment free of cost. Tuberculosis is not an incurable disease but its timely diagnosis and proper treatment and precaution can save anyone’s life, Dahri said.
He said that at present 399 TB Diagnosis and timely Treatment Centers are functioning in Sindh where patients are not only diagnosed with TB but also screened for HIV. He said that during the year 2021, about 1069595 patients were treated free of cost by the department across Sindh. He said that earlier TB treatment was costly and it lasted for two years but now the treatment is being provided free of cost by the department in collaboration with Sindh government and global funding and it’s treatment duration was curtailed.
He said that in different areas of Sindh where TB diagnosis and treatment centers were not available, the department was setting up free campuses and providing treatment to the people by diagnosing disease.
He said that district headquarters, taluka hospitals, health care centers, primary health centers and rural hospitals across Sindh have facilities for diagnosis and treatment of TB in young and old people. He also shared his views on the diagnosis, treatment and precautions to be taken for TB patients. Additional Director TB Control Program Sindh Hyderabad Dr. Zahid Ali Sheikh, Project Manager Dr. Abid Ali Chana, General Secretary District TB Association Hyderabad Muhammad Rafiq Rajput and others also addressed the walk. The walk was attended by a large number of people besides health department officials, doctors and representatives of NGOs.
