JP/04/HEALTH
Indonesia needs to allocate more funds to fight tuberculosis
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia, which ranks as the third highest tuberculosis burdened country in the world after India and China, must be more persistent in fighting tuberculosis (TB) to meet its own target of detecting 60 percent of TB cases this year and to achieve the global target of detecting 70 percent next year.
Indonesia registers almost 400 TB-related deaths daily, or 140,000 annually, and about a quarter million of its citizens could be infected by TB each year.
The disease kills about 8,000 people a day or two to three million people each year around the world.
Tuberculosis is a contagious disease that attacks the lungs and is caused by the bacilli Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
The Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) jointly announced on Wednesday the results of studies carried out in 11 provinces by international experts, on the National Tuberculosis Program (NTP).
The results of the study show that Indonesia has made rapid progress in TB control by successfully detecting 52 percent of TB cases and curing 85 percent of TB cases last year. The number constitutes a significant increase from the 38 percent detection rate and 72 percent cure rate, reached in 2003.
"This is a very positive story. Indonesia has done very well in the last few years. Despite all the political problems the country has had, it has done remarkably well," said Georg Peterson, WHO country representative for Indonesia.
However, the country's progress in fighting TB is still far from that achieved by India and China.
According to the director of the Stop TB Department at the WHO, Mario Raviglione, of the three major countries that have dealt with TB, India was estimated to have 1.8 million cases every year; China, 1.5 million cases; and Indonesia an estimated 500,000 every year.
"India has made the most rapidly expanding program in the world by providing treatment almost everywhere in the country. By the end of this year, its government has pledged to achieve the global target of 70 percent case detection and 85 percent cured patients.
"In China, there was a request by the central health ministry to really devout all possible efforts to achieve the global target. China is pledging to achieve the target by the end of this year," he said.
Mario added that at the moment, China's case detection rate is about 40 percent and their cure rate is above 90 percent -- the best in the world along with Vietnam.
The joint WHO and Ministry of Health monitoring team predicted that the global target might be reached by Indonesia next year as the country had a delay in fully implementing the "Stop TB program" due to rapid changes in the health ministry's administration and the insufficient budget caused by the late 1990s financial crisis.
A document obtained from the ministry says that of the US$38.5 million budget required to finance the program, the government contributed US$21.8 million, with the remainder coming from grants and international funding.
"Last year about Rp 45 billion ($4.89 million) was spent on medicine and the amount will be increased this year," Rosmini Day, acting director of direct transmitted disease control at the Ministry of Health said, referring to the free medicine for TB patients that is provided by the government.
In its report, the monitoring team suggested that local administrations consider funding essential operational activities to ensure the sustainability of the program. (006)