Three Mln TB Patients Escape Diagnosis - WHO

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 (Bernama) -- The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that although new tuberculosis (TB) cases are falling worldwide, about three million people each year are escaping diagnosis by healthcare facilities and not getting the treatment they need. The UN agency Director of Global TB Programme, Mario Raviglione, said that quality TB care for millions worldwide has driven down TB cases but far too many people were still missing out on such care and suffering as a result. "They are not diagnosed, or not treated, or information on the quality of care they receive is unknown," he was quoted as saying by The Global Fund, an international financing institution dedicated to attracting and disbursing resources to prevent and treat HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria. The Global Fund said that the WHO in its Global tuberculosis report 2013 released Wednesday, estimated that the three million people who are currently undiagnosed by health systems account for one third of all those falling ill with TB every year. About three quarters of the three million missed cases are concentrated in 12 countries. Meanwhile, The Global Fund and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) have signed a grant agreement totalling 15 million euros (RM65.22 million) on Wednesday to combat a malaria crisis gripping the Central African Republic, which is facing conflict and instability. "The support from the Global Fund gives us an important opportunity to tackle this growing risk. Malaria remains the leading killer in the Central African Republic," IFRC Secretary General Bekele Geleta was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Global Fund. The grant would enable the distribution of over 2.3 million mosquito nets across the country to reach an estimated population of 4.8 million. According to Geleta, the recent instability and violence in the country has exposed millions to the risks of malnutrition and preventable diseases such as malaria. The number of cases of malaria in the northwest of the country has almost doubled in the past year, partly because of insecurity caused by armed groups operating in the area, The Global Fund said. Malaria accounted for 70 per cent of all pediatric deaths from May to July 2013 in the region, according to a recent assessment by a non-governmental organisation. -- BERNAMA