HYDERABAD: In a landmark initiative to curb the current tuberculosis (TB) epidemic, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has signed a pact with the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) to jointly undertake a series of measures to reduce the number of TB deaths in the country. The pact was signed at the 71st five-day International FIP Congress held here on Sunday. TB is one of the world’s biggest infectious killers and caused 1.7 million deaths in 2009. Of those, nearly 3 lakh deaths were in India. But experts say that TB is curable and patients can be treated with a six-month course of medication. The joint effort by WHO and FIP gains prominence as pharmacists are often the first point of contact for people with TB symptoms, especially in countries with a high burden of TB. Together, WHO and FIP will detect TB patients and offer treatment through FIP’s network of two million pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists across the world. “Pharmacists can be the gatekeepers to vital TB health services. WHO welcomes the opportunities that further collaboration with the federation’s network of pharmacists will bring in helping many people with tuberculosis gain early access to the care and treatment they need,” said Dr Hiroki Nakatani, assistant director-general of WHO. As part of the partnership, WHO-FIP will provide patient-centred treatment supervision to promote adherence and help prevent multi-drug resistant TB. Pharmacists on their part will refer patients with TB symptoms to facilities with quality diagnosis and treatment. “The FIP will endeavour to support WHO and their member-states in enabling national tuberculosis programmes and national pharmacy associations to strengthen their collaboration towards care and control of TB and multidrug-resistant TB globally,” said Dr Michle Buchmann, FIP president.
Comments
0 comment