Blogs

Marking the ‘World TB Day 2016’ HERD had called upon students currently enrolled or recently graduated in clinical and public health or related disciplines to share their thoughts through a competition - Have Your Say on World TB Day. Interested participants were asked to share their views through an online form posted in HERD's website on "How can we make efforts towards tuberculosis control more effective in Nepal?"

The eligible participants had to share their thoughts not more than 100 words by March 24, 5 pm. Sujana Silwal who recently completed BPH from Noble College grabbed the first position while Mausam Shrestha who is currently studying MPH at Chitwan Medical College became the first runner-up. They were provided with the cash prize and certificate at HERD office today in a small ceremony.

Receiving the prize Silwal said, “I am very honored that my writing and my insights have been appreciated.” Likewise, Shrestha shared, “With the appreciation, I am now even more motivated to contribute more through writing and sharing my perspectives on issues of public health importance in the coming days.”

 

Sujana Silwal and Mausam Shrestha receiving the award from Mr Shyam Kandel - Programme Manager at HERD

Handing over the prize, Shyam Kandel, Programme Manager at HERD, appreciated the efforts and said, “TB is an emerging issue and to curb the disease we also need someone to use the pen as a medium of advocacy’.

Hom Nath Subedi, Senior Manager, Programme Management encouraged the winners to write more so that their efforts will raise awareness and inspire others as well. Sudeepa Khanal Manager, Health Systems Research said that the involvement of youth in such issue will be very helpful in the long run as it will further contribute in TB agenda setting at national and even global scale.

Every year the World TB day is marked on March 24 with the motive of raising awareness about tuberculosis - major cause of death for almost one and half million people every year, especially in developing countries. This year the day was observed with a slogan ‘Unite to End TB’.

WORDS OF WINNERS

Sujana Silwal, First Prize Winner

In-order to intensify our fight against TB, we need to strengthen surveillance programs to accurately estimate the burden of all kinds of TB [Children; MDR-TB; TB/HIV]. Compulsory vaccination against BCG, better diagnostic tests for quick screening-up to grass-root level; accurate reporting/recording of all registered cases. Regulating rational use of anti-TB drugs; not be sold as over-the-counter-drugs. Coordination between PHC and DOTS centers for better awareness. Prioritizing the groups that must be followed first, patient adherence to treatment, over-reliance on x-ray. Pasteurization of milk and vaccination of livestock as fight against TB is incomplete without considering zoonotic-aspect of this deadly disease.

Mausam Shrestha, Runner-Up

The slogan for this year World TB Day is “Let’s be united to stamp out TB”. Despite of several efforts 7000 people are still dying in Nepal, a country that is home of 80,000 TB patients [Source: NTBC]. Direct Observed Treatment Short course is TB control strategy recommended by WHO. It is 6-8 month regimen and it is cost-effective way of treatment. The main efforts for TB control are: Political commitment with increased and sustained financing; Standardized treatment with the support of patient; An effective drug supply and its management and Monitoring and evaluation system