TB champions

Achieving the TB Champion Awards 2016 award by the US for our efforts towards eradicating tuberculosis is commendable. Tuberculosis was first declared a health emergency in Pakistan in 2001. Pakistan ranks 5th among the 22nd highest tuberculosis (TB) burden countries in the world. Fortunately, Pakistan has made successful endeavours in combating this disease. During the period between 2001 and 2015, more than three million people were diagnosed with TB and were treated in 1,300 public sector TB care facilities under the National TB Care Programme free of cost. This shows that we can also eliminate many other diseases like polio, breast cancer and hepatitis from our soil. It is hoped that the country will successfully eradicate all dangerous and fatal diseases with proper management. Dr Zartash Kanwal Farooq Narowal