Expert opinion

	03.12.06 Victoria Panova G8 research group, University of Toronto, Director for Russia
	03.12.06 Mona Bricke German NGO Forum Environment and Development
	03.12.06 Nigel Martin Montreal International Rorum (FIM)
	02.12.06 John Kirton Head of G8 Research Group, University of Toronto
	02.12.06 Regina Gunter Head of the WWF Germany

3. Tuberculosis as a global issue

WHO announced a new strategy against tuberculosis

Today World Health Organization (WHO) announced a new strategy against tuberculosis, the disease, which causes deaths of 1,7 million people each year. It aims to counteract the drug resistant tuberculosis spread in Eastern Europe and to counteract the combination of tuberculosis and HIV, which is typical of Africa. The main goal of the new strategy is to provide access to treatment for all the consumptives by 2015.

The strategy is based on the short term treatment under the close medical control known as “DOTS”. Among the traditional anti-tuberculosis actions, it applies new effective ways of diagnostics and treatments. The new WHO strategy allows to discover the disease at early stages thanks to bacterioscopy method. This method helps to cure 8 people out of 10. “DOTS” was approved by WHO back in 1995. Since then more than 22 million patients have had the treatment based on that short-term course.

The new strategy, consisting of 6 component, is based on this success and on the validation of the main problems concerning tuberculosis treatment: its drug resistance and combination with the other dangerous infection – HIV/Aides.

“The short-term treatment under a close medical control is still the main of the tuberculosis counteractions. Without that we are not able to cope with this infection. Today this course programs are adopted in 183 countries. The new anti-tuberculosis strategy will stimulate the more versatile and effective activity”, said Mario Ravillione, the head of the WHO Anti-tuberculosis Department.

The authors believe that it is necessary to involve all kinds of medical institutions, state and private, to embrace all the patients and provide them with effective help.

The new strategy is to increase the strength of the Anti-tuberculosis Global plan for 2006-2015, estimated at 56 billion US dollars. It was adopted in January this year. If this plan is carried out, then 14 million lives will be saved. The Who used to say that drug resistant tuberculosis is spread mostly in post Soviet countries. Six out of ten countries with the highest figures in this kind of tuberculosis are Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, part of Russian Federation and Uzbekistan.

The main reasons for the fast spreading of this disease are insufficiently considered treatment and the lack of medicines. The traditional medicine does not help the chronicle patients with the drug resistant tuberculosis. The treatment of one common consumptive costs 10 dollars per six months while the one with drug resistant form of tuberculosis – 100 times more expensive.

Expert opinion

	02.12.06 Halter Marek Le College de France
	02.12.06 Olivier Giscard d’Estaing COPAM, France
	02.12.06 Mika Ohbayashi Institute for Sustainable Energy Poliсy
	02.12.06 Bill Pace World Federalist Movement - Institute for Global Policy
	01.12.06 Peter I. Hajnal Toronto University, G8 Research Group