Common fight against tuberculosis in Africa

In five African countries, more than ten percent of all live around
the world suffering from tuberculosis. A new collaborative project is
there to advance the TB prevention and treatment of patients.

DAR ES SALAAM, (gvg). The World Health Organization (WHO) and the
Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation (BMSF) have agreed a two-year
collaboration.

The goal is to advance the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis
tuberculosis patients in Africa.

Raise awareness of tuberculosis

Contents of cooperation is a pilot project that will take place in
South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia and the Republic of Congo.

In these five countries together, 13 percent of all sick people
worldwide are living with tuberculosis and 20 percent of all patients
who have non-HIV-infection and infection with the tuberculosis
bacterium.

Through measures such as awareness training in women's and youth
groups and the involvement of traditional healers to sharpen awareness
of the tuberculosis patients early and more adequate therapy are
supplied.

Target groups are miners

The agreement was based, among other things to be very successful in
force, community-based TB project of the local non-governmental
organization Bambisanani in South Africa, which is supported by the
BMSF financially and logistically.

Target group of Bambisanani are miners in the Eastern Cape Province in
South Africa, where tuberculosis is common.

"Death rate from tuberculosis has been reduced"

"This project has succeeded, the number of patients and increase
healed considerably and reduce the death rate from tuberculosis," BMSF
Director Phangisile Mtshali Manciya said at a meeting of the BMSF
support program Secure the Future in Dar-es- salaam.

Specifically, the number of patients who have undergone the treatment
of tuberculosis completely, due to integration of various social
groups 2005-2009 more than quintupled.

The number of recovered patients was nearly sixfold. And the number of
deaths fell by more than half.

Now also in other African countries

Through the cooperation between the WHO and BMSF these successes
should now be reproduced in other African countries.

In the end, will also be created a sort of guide that summarizes the
effective measures with which TB can be contained.