The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Dhaka

The government in cooperation with the BRAC and other supporting organisations has chalked out an elaborate programme to observe the World Tuberculosis Day-2008 today.

The programme includes rallies, screening of mobile films on tuberculosis (TB) and discussions in Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Barisal, Sylhet and Bogra. Besides, rallies, discussions, cultural functions and workshops will be held at 68 district and 460 upazila headquarters. Government officials, TB experts, journalists and NGO workers will participate in the programmes.

This was informed today at a press briefing jointly organised by the Health and Family Welfare Ministry, the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU), the National Tuberculosis Control Programme (NTCP), the BRAC and other organisations at the DRU auditorium here. DRU general secretary Elias Khan conducted the function. The theme of the year is 'I am also for preventing TB'.

Director of the Microbiological Disease Control (MBDC) and NTCP line director Prof Dr Pravat Chandra Barua, superintendent of the TB Control and Training Institute Dr Md Nazrul Islam, Dr ABM Tauhidul Islam of the World Health Organisation (WHO), director of the BRAC public relation department Anwarul Haque and BRAC health programme chief Jalal Uddin Ahmed spoke at the press briefing.

They said the TB kills at least 70,000 people and infects three lakh people in the country each year. Out of the 200 countries in the world, the disease is preventable in the 22 countries, including Bangladesh where the detection rate of the disease is 95 per cent.

Prof Barua said the government has taken a five-year plan for combating the disease in the TB-prone areas of the country, including Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) and haors.

"We have provided training for 80,000 doctors, nurses and health workers for improving our laboratories," Prof Barua said.

Dr Tauhidul Islam said the administrating of multi-drug resistance fails to cure TB patients due to wrong treatment and taking uncontrolled medicines.