World TB Day 2002                                                                                         
            A Year Long Campaign.....

This year's Stop TB, Fight Poverty campaign outlines our aims:

• Stop the Scandal! TB is the top cause of avoidable death in poor countries. Only one in four TB patients is treated with DOTS, and the poor are underrepresented in this group. This is a scandal because we have the strategies to stop it.

• Reach out to the Poor! Poor people and communities have a human right to health. Effective TB control can change their lives, these poor patients who subsist on less than US$ 1 a day and suffer disproportionately from the ravages of communicable diseases.

• Reap the Benefits! Communicable diseases—particularly HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria—are major causes of poverty. Dealing effectively with TB alone can recoup annual losses equivalent to US$ 12 billion dollars from the lost incomes of poor communities.

Starting on World TB Day (WTBD) on 24 March 2002, the theme Stop TB, Fight Poverty will serve as an overarching theme throughout the year. At the global level, activities will focus on:

• Building the Evidence Base: Research, information and scientific debate, supported by seminars and workshops leading to recommendations to be presented in December 2002 - Discussion paper.
  

Stop TB partners are encouraged to mount a sustained campaign to:

• Improve case detection by changing health behaviour and organizing communities;

• Create demand for DOTS services through grassroots participation and communication;

• Reduce TB stigma by supporting TB patients’ and health care workers’ voices.

Links:

- Health and Development Initiative India

An Invitation to Apply for Participation in a Project to Assess and Learn from the Record of:
How Well Health, Nutrition, and Population Activities Are Reaching Disadvantaged Groups.
(word doc 49kb or pdf file 32kb)

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