Papua New Guinea has a high rate of tuberculosis cases in the Western Pacific Region.
The Region is made up of 37 countries.
World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that PNG unfortunately has a very high rate of TB and is one of the most endemic countries for TB.
WHO regional coordinator for stop TB and leprosy elimination, Dr Nobuyuki Nishikiori, said the increase in multidrug resistant TB is a great concern for the region.
Nishikiori was part of the Regional Green Light Committee (RGLC) that recently visited PNG to evaluate the progress of the TB epidemic that has occurred since 2015.
WHO is continuously supporting PNG over the last several years and fortunately, they’ve seen tremendous improvement.
Nishikiori said the progress is quite visible and there’s already a tangible outcome.
“One of the very possible signs I was impressed with was the engagement of the community in some of the affected hot spots, including Daru and Gulf Province.
“In Daru, there’s a community that is fully engaged in supporting the patients and we had the opportunity to speak with some of the patients who were very happy with the services,” he said.
Nishikiori said the whole sector of society, including health, education, social, church and private sectors, all need to be engaged to tackle the disease.
There are many factors that contribute to the high TB rate, including poverty and also the general social economic development, stated the regional coordinator.
Nishikiori added that the right strategy needs to be put in place to support patients and address the problem. These include detecting and treating TB early because TB is a curable disease.