Tuberculosis or TB is a killer disease that most of us have known for generations. There is a mistaken notion that the disease is no longer a serious danger. The reality is more somber. Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that usually affects the lungs. Compared with other diseases caused by a single infectious agent, tuberculosis is the second biggest killer, globally. In 2015, 1.8 million people died from the disease.
In the industrialized world TB has long been considered a a thing of the past. But its catastrophic impact in developing countries has been ignored or underestimated for too long.
That is dangerous. More than 1.7 million TB-related deaths are registered annually, including almost 800,000 in the World Health Organization (WHO) Southeast Asia region alone.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, a tuberculosis epidemic rampaged throughout Europe and North America, before the German microbiologist Robert Koch discovered the microbial causes of tuberculosis in 1882. Following Koch’s discovery, the development of vaccines and effective drug treatment led to the belief that the disease was almost defeated. Indeed, at one point, the United Nations, predicted that tuberculosis (TB) would be eliminated worldwide by 2025. However, in the mid-1980s, TB cases began to rise worldwide, so much so, that in 1993, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that TB was a global emergency; the first time that a disease had been labeled as such.
The South East Asia Region of WHO is home to one fourth of the world’s population; however the region accounts for nearly half of the global burden in terms of new TB cases appearing each year. In 2015, there were an estimated 4.74 million new cases of TB and nearly 800 000 people died due to TB (and TB-HIV) in the Region. Six SEAR member states are in the list of 30 high TB burden countries globally- Bangladesh, DPR Korea, India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand.
In India, the campaign to eradicate TB by 2025 is personally energized by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said global efforts to eliminate TV have not been successful and he introduced a new approach, moving ahead with the principle of “treat every TB patient best at the very first opportunity” and calling for multi-sectoral engagement and participation.
Now Indonesia celebrates the International Day of Tuberculosis along with the rest of the world. The highlight is on May 24, 2018 at the National Monument in Jakarta. The main theme is Indonesia Cares about TB, Healthy Indonesia. Collaboration between government, the private sector and the community aims to increase awareness and participation. An industrial coalition has been formed in 2016 with representatives of industry, government and community organisations . It includes Johnson & Johnson Indonesia, Danone, Manulife, Alfamart, Bank Mandiri, Express Group, Indofood, BTPN, Medco Energy. Community organizations include Forum Stop TB Partnership Indonesia, Peta, KPMAK UGM, KNCV, PPTI, PP Aisyiyah, PDPI, LKNU, APINDO, and WHO.
