Health and Family Welfare Minister Mohammed Nasim launched Zero TB Cities Initiative to end tuberculosis (TB) in Bangladesh organised by USAID at Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden hotel in the city on Saturday.
Health Ministry and United States Agency for International Development -USAID would jointly run the initiative.
Nasim lauded Bangladesh’s successes in the health sector as Bangladesh has set an example for its remarkable achievements including reducing child and maternal mortality as well as attaining polio-free status.
“Like other diseases, we can achieve similar successes in controlling TB,” he added. Nasim urged all to work together to make Bangladesh free from the burden of tuberculosis (TB) as the country is still reeling from the disease.
This initiative is significant because Bangladesh has the seventh highest prevalence rate of TB in the world, and with more than 18 million people, Dhaka is one of the world’s most densely populated cities, making it especially vulnerable to an outbreak.
State Minister for Health and Family Welfare Zahid Maleque, Secretary M Serajul Huq Khan, Additional Secretary Roxana Quader and US Ambassador in Dhaka Marcia Bernicat also spoke.
US Ambassador Marcia Bernicat said, “The United States Government is proud to support the Zero TB Cities Initiative through the United States Agency for International Development with contributions from the US Department of State, Centers for Disease Control and US Department of Defense.
