Health experts and development activists in Rajshahi sought all-out cooperation from the media, as well as the community people, to free society from the curse of tuberculosis (also known as TB).
They made the observation while addressing a district-level view-sharing meeting with journalists at a restaurant in Rajshahi city on Sunday.
The National Anti Tuberculosis Association of Bangladesh (NATAB) organised the meeting, aimed at sensitising the media people on how they can contribute towards the prevention of tuberculosis.
Speakers at the meeting unanimously observed that the role of mass media is very important for creating massive awareness, as it has become an urgent need for substantial and sustainable reduction of tuberculosis prevalence.
It was revealed in the meeting that there are 3,641 TB patients in the district, including 1,436 in its city, at present, and all of them are under treatment.
Civil Surgeon Dr Abu Sayeed Muhammad Faruque and District Surveillance Medical Officer Dr Abdur Rob Siddiqui addressed the meeting as resource persons, while NATAB district unit General Secretary Advocate Shahinul Haque was in the chair.
Programme Organiser of the civil surgeon office Muhammad Sadequnnabi and BRAC Programme Organiser Rafiqul Islam also spoke on the occasion, disseminating their expertise on the matter.
“TB is no longer a killer disease, as early detection, proper and timely diagnosis, and treatment and preventive measures are now available to combat the disease,” Dr Abu Sayeed Faruque said.
“This is the time to create awareness among the public to face the existing challenges of Multi-Drug Resistance (MDR) as its consequences are very dangerous,” he added.
Dr Faruque told the meeting that TB is an infectious disease that usually spreads out through the breathing of the affected patients.
He termed the co-infection of TB and HIV as severe to any human body and laid stress on a comprehensive working force along with a capacity development plan to deal with TB-HIV co-infection. He added that compared to Covid-19 TB is more dangerous and harmful.
He, however, said the government is determined to achieve success in TB control through implementing the Directly Observed Treatment strategy and with enormous efforts of all the stakeholders including the NGOs, as TB diagnostic and treatment services are now available throughout the country.
Dr Rob Siddiqui said monitoring the implementation status and achievements in TB control plays a vital role in programme planning and advocacy and helps in achieving success in the prevention and control of TB in a better way.
He added that collective efforts of all the authorities and individuals concerned can be the effective means of reducing morbidity, mortality and transmission of tuberculosis.
