National forum held to fight tuberculosis

With support of the prime minister, a national forum on the topic of Multilateral Partnership for the Elimination of Tuberculosis was held on November 1. Mongolia is ranked among the seven countries with the highest incidence of tuberculosis in a report by the World Health Organization West Pacific Region. Specifically, tuberculosis cases are the most common infectious disease followed by STIs and viral hepatitis in Mongolia.

Treatment of the disease is lengthy, costly and has adverse effects during long term treatment, according to experts. Patients suffer from loss longterm employability, and there are negative repercussions on the household income, and the country’s socio-economic situation. Those impacted with tuberculosis face serious issues in their social welfare, social inclusion, labor and education. The forum’s participants noted that involvement of local government agencies in addressing the issue is crucial.

According to the head of Tuberculosis Research Center of the National Center for Communicable Diseases, approximately 4,000 tuberculosis cases have been recorded annually. A 2016 survey on tuberculosis patients and their families show that 39 percent of the patients had received loans, 45.5 percent became unemployed, and 70 percent of patients and their families experienced financial burden.