Huot Chan Yuda, director of the National Centre for Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control (CENAT) said the centre intends to step up research into Tuberculosis (TB). The Kingdom has set itself the goal of eliminating TB by 2030.
“We are able to record all TB cases thanks to excellent cooperation by the health centres, communities and hospitals across the country that treat TB patients,” Yuda said at the January 17 national consultation.
He added that CENAT will continue to work on the issue of TB cases among the prison population.
The Ministry of Health hosted a January 17 national consultation on a multi-sectoral accountability framework for the Kingdom’s TB response.
The consultation was attended by several relevant ministries, UN agencies and development partners.
Health ministry spokeswoman Or Vandine said the ministry was proud of what it had achieved so far in the fight against TB.
She thanked the ministries, institutions, and national and international organisations that had supported the ministry’s efforts, and welcomed their assistance in meeting the 2030 target.
According to CENAT’s Yuda, there are many challenges which need to be overcome if the target is to be met.
“Many people who develop TB are unaware of the services they can access, and others fear they will be discriminated against if they report their illness,” he said.
The health ministry and it partners were working to change public perceptions of the disease, through educational campaigns.
“In 2022, CENAT detected 32,000 cases of TB in the Kingdom, an increase of 10 to 15 per cent over the previous year,” said Yuda.
“A number of Covid-19 patients subsequently developed TB, which led to a slight increase in cases. The number of fatal cases was not recorded,” he added.
