RAJSHAHI, March 24, 2019 (BSS) – Health experts at a post-rally discussion here today called for a concerted effort to bring all the undetected tuberculosis patients under proper treatment as the unidentified patients are the main challenge for building a TB free society.
Offices of Divisional Director of Health and Civil Surgeon, Chest Disease Hospital and Rajshahi City Corporation jointly organized the discussion held at Luxmipur crossing here to mark the World Tuberculosis Day-2019.
To mark the day, large number of health officials and workers, development activists and volunteers took out a huge rally from the office premises of Civil Surgeon to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of tuberculosis.
The theme of World TB Day 2019 is “It’s time”- puts the accent on the urgency to act on the commitments to prevention and treatment.
Damien Foundation, Tilottoma, Population Services and Training Center (PSTC), BRAC, FPAB, NATAB and Ashakta Punarbashan Sangstha (APOSH) supported it.
Divisional Director of Health Dr Gopendra Nath Acharya, Superintendent of Chest Disease Hospital Dr Amir Hossain, Divisional TB Expert Dr Saiful Islam, Project Director of Damien Foundation Arif Iftikhar Mannan, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of Resource Integration Centre Toslim Uddin and Divisional Manager of Brac Mazarul Islam spoke on the occasion.
Dr Gopen Acharya said the existing challenges of Multi Drug Resistance (MDR) tuberculosis should be faced collectively as its consequences are very dangerous.
He said there is no alternative but take concerted efforts to check the contagious disease as it usually spreads out through breathing of the affected patients.
Dr Acharya underscored the need for conducting massive awareness and searching programmes to detect the TB patients in the slum and char areas of the district without further delay. It is no more a deadly disease and it is fully cured if the affected patients take proper treatment.