Maputo — Mozambican Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosario has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to adopt effective strategies to fight tuberculosis.
Speaking on Wednesday in Maputo at a ceremony to mark World Tuberculosis Day, Rosario said implementation of those strategies has contributed to meaningful progress in efforts to control the disease.
He said there has been enormous progress in the treatment of TB patients, as well as the use of antiretroviral therapy for those co-infected with HIV/AIDS.
“The results we have been recording with the implementation of these strategies reflect government efforts, as well as the international commitments made after the United Nations High Level Meeting on Tuberculosis in 2018,” he said.
In Mozambique, added Rosario, there are an estimated 361 new infections by tuberculosis in every 100,000 habitants per year, which means the epidemic affects nearly 110,000 Mozambicans across the country.
World Health Organisation (WHO) data point out that nearly 10 million cases of tuberculosis were recorded in 2019, causing 1.4 million deaths. 95 per cent of these deaths occurred in developing countries.
Since the declaration of tuberculosis by the WHO, 25 years ago, as a public health emergency, many countries, including Mozambique, have been making efforts to control and eradicate the disease which is curable.
“We reaffirm the government’s commitment and determination to keep on adopting measures and to implement actions intended to consolidate the outcome we have achieved so far in preventing and fighting against tuberculosis”, declared the Prime Minister.
At the ceremony, the National Guideline for Latent Tuberculosis Treatment was launched in a presentation given by the Minister of Health, Armindo Tiago.
The latest instrument is intended to improve the mechanisms to identify and screen individuals with latent tuberculosis, who have no evident symptoms of the disease.
The health authorities believe that the implementation of several actions envisaged in the National Guideline for Latent Tuberculosis Treatment will reduce transmission and cut down the number of people infected with the disease.