The Honorable Dr. Lia Tadese, the Minister of Health of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia, stated this at the 72nd World Health Organization forum on the African continent, which is being held in Lome, Togo. She said that since the TB disease roadmap for children and young adults approved in Ethiopia in 2015 started to be implemented, the prevention and treatment of children and young adults from TB disease has improved.
Although the number of people contracting and dying from the disease has decreased due to the work done in Ethiopia; the country is one of the 30 countries where the burden of TB and TB-HIV is still high, Dr. Lea said that efforts to prevent and control TB should focus on the more vulnerable and neglected sections of the society.
In order to achieve the sustainable development goal to prevent TB disease by 2030, Minister Dr. Lea stressed that it is necessary to pay attention and help especially the sub-Saharan countries that are more affected by the spread of TB disease. She said that the identification, diagnosis and treatment of TB in children and young people, which has not received the appropriate attention, should receive attention.
Dr. Lea said that it is important to ensure equity in order to achieve the goals of the world health agenda set to ensure universal health coverage. Dr. Lea said that by ensuring fair access to health services in general, paying attention to children and young people to prevent TB disease and protect their overall health is an excellent example. Other stakeholders have been called upon to help poor countries that lack resources.