More than 650 children die from TB every day: Stop TB Partnership
Highlighting the devastating and continued impact of COVID-19 pandemic on children affected by Tuberculosis (TB), Stop TB Partnership, a UN supported international agency, today noted with grave concern the setbacks suffered in the fight against childhood tuberculosis as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the WHO 2020 Global TB Report, over one million children fall ill with the disease every year, and the related deaths have increased for the first time in over a decade.
“Every single day, more than 650 children die from tuberculosis, a preventable and treatable disease. That is an unacceptable tragedy,” said Dr. Lucica Ditiu, Executive Director of the Stop TB Partnership in a statement on Thursday. “We cannot continue to stand on the sidelines while children fall ill and die, especially when we know how to prevent them from falling ill in the first place and how to treat them when they do so,” she added.
Stop TB partnership had cautioned in a report last year that a missed focus and lack of funding from the member countries and other concerned agencies post Covid period affected its activities, which resulted in a huge gap in TB diagnosis and treatment in several affected counties.