HEADLINE-HEALTH | WHO: Singapore, Cambodia record lower TB cases, WHO calls for efforts to end TB in Africa
SINGAPORE: Singapore registered 1,201 new active tuberculosis (TB) patients last year, down from 1,251 in 2022, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Health, reported Xinhua.Older age groups and males continue to make up a significant proportion of the new active TB cases in Singapore. About 78 per cent of the 1,201 patients were 50 years old and above, and 66 per cent were males.
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Meanwhile, Cambodia has seen a remarkable decline in TB deaths and new cases in more than two decades, Prime Minister Hun Manet said on Sunday.
In a message on the World TB Day, Hun Manet said the mortality rate from TB had dropped by 45 per cent from 42 cases per 100,000 people in 2000 to 23 in 2022.
He added that new TB cases had also fallen by 45 per cent from 579 per 100,000 people in 2000 to 320 in 2022.
“These achievements have allowed Cambodia to achieve the Millennium Development Goals related to the reduction of morbidity and mortality from TB four years ahead of the target,“ he said. “This is something that only a few countries in the world can achieve.”
Hun Manet said TB treatment is free-of-charge, with a high cure rate of more than 90 per cent.
Meanwhile, African countries should join hands and invest in high-impact interventions to achieve the goal of eliminating TB by 2030, a senior World Health Organisation (WHO) official said.
Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO regional director for Africa, said it is possible to reduce Africa’s high TB burden substantially once governments, industry, and donor partners invest in new diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics.
In Africa, TB continues to be the second leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, surpassing the toll of HIV and AIDS, Moeti noted, adding that in 2022, about 2.5 million people on the continent contracted the disease, equivalent to one person every 13 seconds.
“Additionally, the number of TB deaths in 2022 reached 424,000, resulting in the loss of one life every minute even when TB is preventable and treatable,“ Moeti said in a statement issued in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.
“These figures underscore the urgency of our collective action in addressing the ongoing TB epidemic and highlight the need for sustained efforts to end it,“ Moeti said, adding that the WHO African Region has provided strategic direction and monitoring tools, such as the African TB Scorecard, to accelerate progress toward eliminating the highly infectious lung disease.
Meanwhile, the Australian government has committed funding totalling 17 million Australian dollars (US$11 million) in funding for the Global Alliance for Tuberculosis — also known as the TB Alliance to efforts aiming to end tuberculosis.
Penny Wong, the minister for foreign affairs, and Pat Conroy, the minister for international development and the Pacific, in a joint statement, said the funding reaffirms Australia’s steadfast commitment to ending tuberculosis.
“Improving the health and well-being of communities in Southeast Asia and the Pacific is central to supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous region,“ she said.
According to the WHO, an estimated 10.6 million people fell ill with tuberculosis globally in 2022, 1.3 million of whom died.
In addition to developing new treatments, Wong and Conroy said the TB Alliance will help governments including those of the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Papua New Guinea roll them out. – Bernama, Xinhua
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