These remarks were contained in a statement read on his behalf by Dr. Momodu T. Nyassi, deputy director of Health Services, Ministry of Health during activities marking World TB Day held on Sunday at Farato Health Centre.
The theme of this year’s commemoration is ‘Yes we can end TB’.
World TB Day is commemorated on March 24 each year to remind communities of the grave duty people carry in facing one of the deadliest and oldest diseases of humanity.
Minister Samateh revealed that in low-income countries, TB is the eighth leading cause of death and the second leading infectious killer after Covid-19 (above HIV& AIDs).
“Annually, an estimated 10 million people fall ill with TB. A total of 1.3 million died from the disease in 2022.Globally, TB incidence is falling at about 2% per year and between 2015 and 2022, the cumulative reduction was 8.7 %.”
This, he added, is far from the WHO End TB Target of 50% by 2025.
Minister Samateh revealed that The Gambia has equally registered milestone in reducing TB incidence from 149 per 100,000 in 2021 to 145 per 100,000 population in 2022.
He further disclosed that WHO estimated that 75 million lives have been saved since 2000 by the global efforts to end TB, something he added, serves a significant milestone.
He recalled that in 2023, The Gambia registered 2792 TB cases and that 86% of the notified TB patients were successfully treated.
In The Gambia, diagnosis and treatment of TB are provided free of charge to all patients irrespective of nationality and there are has never been a stock out of anti-TB drugs in the country.
Minister Samateh also stated that the Ministry has expanded diagnostic and treatment facilities countrywide which he said, have resulted in improved access to TB services.
