The Coordinating Minister for PMK said that TB that occurs at productive age causes economic losses
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – Tuberculosis (TB) is a health problem which until now has become the most contagious and most deadly disease in the world. Referring to the 2020 WHO Global TB Report, 10 million people worldwide suffer from TB and it causes 1.2 million people to die every year.
The Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (Menko PMK) Muhadjir Effendy said the TB problem was not just a health problem, but had a significant impact on the productivity of Indonesia’s human resources.
“As many as 75 percent of TB cases occur at productive age (15-54 years), and 8.2 percent of TB cases infect children aged less than 15 years,” he said during his remarks at the commemoration of World Tuberculosis Day 2021, organized by the Ministry of Health. virtual, on Wednesday (24/3).
Furthermore, he said, people suffering from multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) would lose 38 percent and 70 percent of their income. The total impact of economic losses due to TB is around Rp. 136.7 billion per year.
“This shows that TB has a significant effect on the productivity of the Indonesian population,” said Muhadjir.
Muhadjir explained, to combat the TB problem, Indonesia has signed a joint agreement with all world leaders to achieve TB elimination by 2030. This, he said, is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) at the UN General Assembly.
“On the commemoration of World Tuberculosis Day in 2021, we are reminded again to evaluate the efforts we have made in the previous year and re-unite our steps, work hand in hand to synergize and further strengthen our efforts to fight TB in the future,” he said.
Furthermore, the Menko PMK revealed that a health approach alone is not sufficient to deal with TB. Therefore, the government is also preparing a Presidential Decree on TB Control in Indonesia by emphasizing cross-sectoral involvement.
“We will soon issue a presidential regulation (Perpres) on TB control which is currently in the process of being signed by the President,” he said.
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