Strengthen primary health care to reduce the burden of TB says epidemiologist
CAPRISA hosted Professor Madhukar Pai, the Canada Research Chair in Epidemiology & Global Health at McGill University and Dr Satvinder Singh Treatment and Care, in the HIV Department at WHO on 23 February. Pai’s lecture titled, Primary care: the weakest link in TB control, was well attended and raised critical issues that impede effective TB treatment. He said that in most countries, ‘TB is a vertical program, and poorly integrated into the general health system and most primary care providers do a poor job of managing TB’. He called for the strengthening of primary care and the integration of TB into Universal Health Coverage. Commenting on his presentation Dr Kogie Naidoo, head of CAPRISA HIV and Treatment said, “Pai’s primary research focus is on improving the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis, particularly in India and South Africa where the burden of disease is extremely high.”