Minister ofHealth, Dr Ahmadou Samateh, says that over 85% of tuberculosis (TB) patients in the country have been successfully treated in the country.
Speaking at receiving ceremony of 25 ambulances held at the Kanifing General Hospital on Wednesday he noted Gambia joined the world to mark World Tuberculosis Day on Thursday.
He said that diagnosis and treatment are provided free of charge, irrespective of nationality. The theme for the day was END TB and SAVES LIVES.
Mr Samateh said Gambian president Adama Barrow recognises health as a central long-term driver of economic growth and as a result, the health sector is one of his top priority areas.
“People have to be healthy to be able to participate effectively in the development process, particularly in the implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP). As a result of the strong political commitment, the Ministry of Health has over the years made progress in the fight against TB in The Gambia,” he added.
Meanwhile, he said: “based on routine TB surveillance data, the number of all forms of TB cases increased from 1,812 in 2006 to 2,635 in 2019, there has been a decline in TB case notification for 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic.
He also disclosed that total of 1.5 million people died from TB in 2020. Including 214,000 with HIV/AIDS, but added that globally TB incidence is falling at about 2% per year and between 2015 and 2020 the cumulative reduction was 11%. This was over half way to the end o TB strategy milestone of 20% reduction between 2015 and 2020.
“Global investment is currently at less than 40% of the US$15 billion per year that global leaders committed in 2018. In October 2021 the world health organization estimated 66 million lives were saved through TB diagnosis and treatment between 2000 and 2020 which is a significant achievement,” he explained.
