A series of activities, co-organized by the China CDC and the Chinese Anti-tuberculosis Association, was held on March 24, which marked World Tuberculosis Day, with the theme "Invest to End TB. Save Lives."
The events were broadcast live through various media platforms, attracting a total 1.265 million of online viewers.
Nearly 50 representatives from the National Health Commission (NHC), the China CDC, the Chinese Anti-tuberculosis Association and other agencies participated in the on-site activities, while representatives of CDCs, TB prevention centers and designated hospitals across the country participated online.
In his opening remarks, Liu Jianjun, deputy director of the China CDC and chairman of the Chinese Anti-tuberculosis Association, thanked all who have supported the work of tuberculosis control and prevention.
Liu pointed out that China has made remarkable achievements in tuberculosis control in the past 20 years, with the mortality rate of TB falling to 2.1/100 000, compared with the global rate of 17/100 000. At an annual rate of 3.2%, China’s TB incidence is also declining faster than the global average of 1.5%.
He added that China is still faced with many challenges such as drug-resistant tuberculosis, latent infection and tuberculosis prevention and control among key populations. Two annual publications, the "China Tuberculosis Report" and the "China Tuberculosis Record", compiled by the China CDC and the China Anti-tuberculosis Association respectively were presented in the program.
Liu Haitao, an official with the Bureau of Disease Prevention and Control of NHC, also pointed out issues that China still needs to tackle, including better implementation of policy for the prevention and treatment of drug-resistant TB and alleviating the burdens of medical expenses of TB patients. He said he hoped that the whole society would participate in the work of TB control and prevention.
Zhao Yanlin, director of TB control and Prevention Center of the China CDC, reported on the implantation plans for the "three major actions", including patient care, Zero-TB community action and social mobilization.
TB patient care action focuses on patients, and the whole process of diagnosis and treatment, healthcare and financing. Zero-TB community (campus) action emphasizes active case finding, close contacts tracing, preventive treatment, social mobilization and health education. Social mobilization action promotes the participation of the whole society comprising multisectors of government, institutions, groups and individuals.
During the theme activities, an academic forum was held. Eight experts discussed tuberculosis latent infection, community TB control, tuberculosis standard treatment and multi drug resistance, among other topics.