TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo held a limited meeting on the acceleration of eliminating Tuberculosis (TB) at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, Tuesday, July 21.

In his opening speech, the president reminded that Indonesia has the third-highest number of TB cases in the world, after India and China. Tuberculosis is one of the ten infectious diseases that cause the most deaths in the world, above HIV-Aids, each year.

He presented data that in 2017, some 165,000 people died because of Tuberculosis. In 2018, the figure slipped to 98,000. Besides, 75 percents of TB patients are productive groups as their ages range from 15 to 55.

“This is what we must be aware of. So, we have a target to combat tuberculosis and be free by 2030,” the president added.

He elaborated several efforts to be considered in a bid to reach the target. First, aggressive tracking.

“We may work on TB and COVID-19 in tandem. We can track people with tuberculosis, too. We have to know that 845,000 people contract TB, but only 562,000 patients are detected. Meaning that 33 percent of people have not made a report yet. Be careful,” he underlined.

Diagnostic and treatment services for TB must be maintained and the medicines must be available. “If a presidential regulation or ministerial decree is needed, issue it immediately,” Jokowi remarked.

Additionally, precautionary and promotive measures to combat TB across sectors are necessary. For example, the Public Works and Housing (PUPR) Ministry must be involved since the population density highly affects disease transmission between individuals.

Read: Jokowi Prepares Tuberculosis Control Regulation

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