This is the second phase of a grant totaling $19,357,000 whose implementation started in 2011, the UNDP reported.
The United Nations Development Programme and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria have signed an agreement to provide Kyrgyzstan with this grant. Its purpose is to reduce the incidence of tuberculosis in Kyrgyzstan through the consolidation and strengthening the fight against drug-resistant TB (DR-TB).
The National Phthisiology Center reports that the number of DR-TB patients is growing every year. In 2011, 804 patients were identified, and in 2012, 904 patients were identified with the multidrug-resistant form of the disease. 3,377 patients have been registered since 2005.
According to the Ministry of Health, currently 9,884 patients with tuberculosis undergo medical treatment. In 2012, 5,674 TB cases were newly diagnosed compared with 5,243 cases registered in 2011, which indicates an increasing trend in the incidence rate. Among children, the incidence rate has increased over the last year: in 2011 it was 30 cases per 100,000 of the population, and in 2012 - 38 cases.
In his annual report, the Kyrgyz Ombudsman stated that 22 prisoners died of tuberculosis in Kyrgyzstan last year.
According to the director of the National Phthisiology Center Abdulaata Kadyrov, in Kyrgyzstan healthy population has a very high risk of contracting tuberculosis and the risk of infection among health professionals working with patients is very high. For example, 23 health professionals were infected with tuberculosis in 2012.
The Director of the Bishkek Department of Health, Amangeldi Murzaliev, said that the incidence of TB is associated with an increase in external and internal migration. For example, 45-47% of patients are migrants, a large number of homeless people also suffer from TB. The largest number of TB patients was found in large markets and new residential areas near Bishkek.
To effectively fight the disease, universal access to treatment and diagnosis, social support for the patients, and adequate technical equipment in medical institutions are necessary. This is not possible without substantial financial support from the government and donors. A course of tuberculosis treatment for one person costs $3,000, a course of DR-TB requires $5,000 to $8,000. Anti-TB drugs have to be purchased by the donors, because the government does not allocate funds for it.
Germany has allocated €11.5 million to fight tuberculosis in Kyrgyzstan. A TB laboratory at the National Phthisiology Center has already been built with this money, and this month German experts are beginning to install diagnostic equipment imported from Germany. Also this year, the construction of a 150-bed hospital will begin in order to replace the old tuberculosis hospital.
Source: The Times of Central Asia