Contacts In Washington: Phil Hay (202) 473-1796 Phay@worldbank.org WASHINGTON, March 17, 2008 - The World Bank Group is working with countries and partner agencies to control tuberculosis (TB) at global, regional, and national levels. Despite some recent progress in parts of the world, TB remains a massive global public health problem, with nearly 9.2 million new cases and 1.7 million deaths each year. This situation is compounded by the growing emergence of Multi-drug Resistant TB (MDR-TB) and Extensively Drug Resistant TB (XDR-TB). New threats require urgent action. The release last month of the “Anti-TB Drug Resistance in the World” report by WHO is a wake-up call for the international community and national governments to do much more to strengthen TB control efforts. In this era of increasing globalization, drug-resistant TB is a global problem, and especially serious in parts of Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Stopping its spread will increase the health security of all countries. Controlling TB is a global public good, and we must all do more to turn back the tide of this deadly disease. TB control is a wise investment The World Bank recently commissioned a new study—The Economic Benefit of Tuberculosis Control—which highlights the high returns on investment in TB control and underscores the productivity and economic losses associated with TB. The World Bank hopes that this report will raise global attention to the health and development threat posed by TB while mobilizing support for its control on a larger scale. The challenge of TB in Africa TB represents an acute problem in Sub-Saharan Africa. “Multi-drug resistance in Southern Africa is becoming an increasing threat to the hard-won health and development gains in the region” said World Bank Group President, Robert B. Zoellick. “Given the stakes involved, we need to step up our efforts in concert with our African partners, as part of our drive to strengthen health care systems.” In Sub-Saharan Africa, HIV/AIDS, malnutrition, malaria and TB combine to weaken resistance and then overwhelm the struggle for survival. The World Bank has renewed its commitment to tuberculosis control in Africa and is scaling- up efforts to mainstream TB control into health and HIV/AIDS operations, along with better costing and budgeting of TB needs. In line with the Bank's focus on global public goods, the Africa region is working in close partnership with partners to bolster laboratory capacity to test and detect TB infection, which has long been a weakness in TB control programs on the continent. To read the report—The Economic Benefit of Tuberculosis Control—please visit: http://econ.worldbank.org/external/default/main?pagePK=64165259&theSitePK=469382&piPK=64165421&menuPK=64166093&entityID=000158349_20070801103922 |
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