WHO meet discusses global burden of TB

MUSCAT: The Sultanate participated in the First WHO Global Ministerial Conference on Ending tuberculosis (TB) in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Era: A Multispectral Response held in Moscow November 16, 17.

The Sultanate was represented in the Conference by Dr Mohammed bin Saif al Hosni, Under-Secretary Ministry of Health for Health Affairs.

The conference was inaugurated by Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation in the presence of the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, as well as ministers of health from many countries of the world.

The conference discussed the global burden of TB, the high rates of morbidity and mortality resulting from this disease, difficulties facing countries to eliminate it and the of the financial burdens of providing treatments and lab tests.

Moscow Declaration to End TB was signed during the meeting. The most important thing in Moscow Declaration is the commitment of the countries to prompt TB response within the framework of sustainable development Goals, to ensure the adequate sustainable funding, follow-up research and innovation activities. At the end of the Conference, the World countries affirmed their commitment to end tuberculosis (TB) by 2030. The outcomes of this conference will be discussed in a high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on TB in New York in 2018.

It is worth mentioning that, the number of TB cases registered in the Sultanate in 2016 was 268 cases. The Ministry of Health calls over all those who are in contact with TB patients to perform the necessary tests in the healthcare institutions.