U.S. Government Commemorates March 23 as the World Tuberculosis Day 2010

Issued by the U.S. Embassy
Minsk, Belarus

On Tuesday March 23 the United States Government joins international and local partners in commemorating World Tuberculosis Day. Worldwide, deaths from Tuberculosis (TB) have decreased since 1990, but the disease continues to claim more than 1.3 million lives each year. Every year, over 9.2 million new cases of tuberculosis (TB) occur. Nearly one-quarter of all HIV/AIDS deaths are due to TB, because of the deadly dynamic of TB/HIV-AIDS co-infection.

In Belarus, tuberculosis is one of the national priority health concerns. In the absence of proper prevention and treatment measures, the infection can cause significant damage to public health and may spread quickly. Belarus has made considerable progress in the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis in the recent years, specifically, promoting the international Stop TB Strategy and reducing TB incidence and mortality.

The United States Government supports the expansion of basic services to achieve early diagnoses of TB cases and ensure that persons with the disease are adequately treated. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided $450,000 to the World Health Organization for the program Support for Tuberculosis Control in Belarus in 2007. The WHO helped the Belarusian Ministry of Health and the National TB Program to align its TB control strategy with the international Stop TB Strategy. Progress has been made through the combination of implementing the Belarusian State Program Tuberculosis 2005-2009, the inputs of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the USAID-funded assistance provided by WHO. By the end of 2009, the strategy of TB care in Belarus was revised and updated, and National TB Guidelines have been developed by the multi-agency National Coordination Working Group.

U.S. Government priorities for the future will include efforts to improve the tuberculosis drug management system, strengthen infection control, engage care providers and develop training modules for all cadres of health workers. The U.S. Government aims to continue support to TB health improvement activities in Belarus over the next 3 years.

The United States Government also supports TB control worldwide through funding provided to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. The U.S. Government is the largest bilateral donor to the Global Fund with $4.339 billion in contributions. Belarus’ application to Round 9 of the Global Fund, prepared with USAID support, has been successfully submitted with the initial budget of $10.1 million and the maximum funding of $24.7 million over five years.