The number of tuberculosis cases in Nghe An decreases by 8-10% each year.

On the morning of March 15, Nghe An Department of Health organized World Tuberculosis Day 2019. Attending the ceremony were representatives of leaders of departments, branches, localities, and representatives of medical units in the province.

Many officials and students of Tuong Duong district responded to World Tuberculosis Day. Photo: Thanh Hoa

Vietnam is still among the 30 countries with the highest burden of tuberculosis in the world, ranking 13th in the number of people with tuberculosis and 16th in the burden of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is a real burden on socio-economic development when 70% of people with tuberculosis are of working age. And for each tuberculosis patient, the family must spend more than 20% of total income on treatment.

Over the years, Nghe An has always maintained and strengthened its prevention network in 100% of districts and communes in the area. The tuberculosis situation in Nghe An tends to decrease by about 8 - 10%/year... In 2018, Nghe An detected, received, and managed treatment for 2,319 tuberculosis patients. The rate of successful treatment is 96%.

Monitoring, detecting and treating tuberculosis patients in the community is facing many difficulties. Photo: Thanh Chung

Besides the successes, the work of preventing and controlling tuberculosis in Nghe An still faces many difficulties such as: specialized staff at the grassroots level often change, hold multiple jobs, and have uneven qualifications. The attention and direction of some units is not really good. Communication and health education activities are not carried out regularly, and people's understanding of tuberculosis and how to prevent it is still limited.

People with tuberculosis still suffer from many prejudices and complexes, causing both physical and mental obstacles. The majority of tuberculosis patients in general and drug-resistant tuberculosis patients in particular have poor family economic conditions, leading to limited access to high-quality medical services. On the other hand, the HIV/AIDS pandemic makes the tuberculosis situation increasingly complicated.

Director of Nghe An Lung Hospital - Doctor CKII Dau Minh Quang - representative of the Department of Health launched the response to World Tuberculosis Day. Photo: Thanh Hoa

World Tuberculosis Day 2019 has the theme "It's time to act together to end tuberculosis by 2030", Nghe An province calls on all levels, sectors, unions, social organizations and all people to join hands, unite, and actively participate in tuberculosis prevention activities, in which the medical network is the core; medical units constantly develop techniques, strengthen disease screening, effectively monitor patients and improve the quality of tuberculosis treatment.