Vietnam Needs $259M More for Tuberculosis Control by 2015

Vietnam is estimated to need n additional $259 million for preventing and fighting against tuberculosis (TB) in the 2011-2015 period, heard a meeting in Ho Chi Minh City on Nov 22. The country aims to halve the number of TB patients in 2015 and eliminate the disease by 2030. Director of the Central Lung Hospital Dinh Ngoc Sy said the initial investment for the program was estimated at $341 million, including $57 million from foreign donors and $25 million from the state budget. Sy attributed there remain difficulties in fulfilling the set targets, including the lack of medical workers due to their low income. In addition, nearly 50% of health workers have not been well-trained and people often treat the disease by themselves at home. Sy also emphasized the necessity to include TB prevention in the list of priorities of social development plans, boost the detection and management of patients and pour more capital into personnel training and building high-quality disease prevention establishments.  Vietnam ranks 12th among 22 tuberculosis high-burden countries with 180,000 new cases and 32,000 deaths due to the disease each year. (vov.vn Nov 22, thesaigontimes.vn Nov 22)