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A DECADE OF PROGRESS AND THE FUTURISTIC CHALLENGES OF TUBERCULOSIS: PROSPECTS AND POSSIBILITIES

Dr. Merab Ahsan, Dr. Nida-e-Farah, Dr. Saba Sabahat

Pakistan is facing Tuberculosis (TB) as a major issue of public health. Its prevalence has always been neglected by the health department in past. Pakistan is among highly endemic countries for TB as it is ranked 8th among countries facing TB as a major issue. The total contribution of Pakistan in the Eastern Mediterranean Region is forty-four percent. WHO estimates sputum TB positive in Pakistan is 80/ 100000 every year [1]. TB contributes 5.1% in the national burden of disease with substantial socioeconomic burden [2]. National guidelines are under the responsibility of the National TB Control Program; they frame policies and workout on resources to arrest TB at district and provincial level. All healthcare and public facilitation centres shifted to DOTS back in 2000. DOTS program achieved a seventy percent diagnosis objective along with 85% of the treatment objective in the partnership built for TB arrest all over the world. Even in the presence of consolidation and expansion of TB program various issues still persist. Productive age group and socioeconomic status are most affected by TB. Formal health sector lacks professionals and as a result, a number of patients are diagnosed by untrained practitioners in the general health sector. Suboptimal case treatment and detection lead to failure of the achievement of set objectives of the TB control program. This research studies key issues of Pakistani healthcare system relating to TB. Moreover, TB prevention and control is also discussed in the research paper.

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