Afghanistan Receives $65,000 Award in Recognition of TB Control Efforts

Afghanistan has been selected to receive an award of $65,000 in recognition of its tuberculosis control efforts, World Health Organization country representative Abdi Momin Ahmad said earlier this month, the Inter Press Service reports. The money will go toward training more medical personnel to treat the disease, Syed Muhammad Amin Fatimi, the country's public health minister, said. There are about 520 TB treatment centers nationwide that offer medication for the disease at no cost. Afghanistan ranks 20th out of the 22 countries with the highest TB burdens worldwide, according to the Inter Press Service. According to WHO, Afghanistan in 2003 recorded about 70,000 new TB cases, and two-thirds of them occurred among women -- who make up 48% of the country's population, the Inter Press Service reports. Factors contributing to the high rate of TB among women in Afghanistan include gender inequality, limited access to health care for women, underreporting of the disease and stigma surrounding the disease. In addition, fewer than one in 50 people who develop multi-drug resistant TB have access to proper treatment, according to WHO. Afghanistan has received support for its TB control efforts from WHO, USAID, the Canadian International Development Agency and the Italian Cooperation Agency. The Japan International Cooperation Agency plans to fund a new TB laboratory network, and the German Leprosy Relief Organization, German Medical Services and other nongovernmental organizations plan to provide TB diagnostics and treatment services throughout the country (Inter Press Service, 4/16)