RIYADH, 24 March 2006 — Saudi Arabia will join the member nations of the World Health Organization (WHO) in observing World Tuberculosis Day today. The Health Ministry has instructed its regional health centers to carry out a program to provide information on preventive measures that could be obtained by the people who visit Kingdom hospitals and clinics.

“Actions for life — the Global Plan to stop TB, 2006 to 2015,” will be the theme of this year’s WHO event, which involves that implementation of a $56-billion plan that WHO officials say will save some 14 million lives over the next decade.

The new “Stop TB Strategy” addresses the current challenges facing countries in responding to TB — how to continue scaling-up TB-control activities while also addressing the spread of TB and drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB).

“In keeping with the directives of the WHO, the Kingdom has been successful in keeping the disease under control within the country,” said Saudi Health Minister Hamad Al-Manie, pointing out that the TB virus was on its way to becoming extinct before it re-emerged as a global threat due to the spread of HIV. TB is highly prevalent among HIV patients.

According to reports published by the WHO, the number of TB cases in the Kingdom is minimal compared to the number in 22 countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region. In 2004, there have been only 3,441 TB cases reported in the Kingdom out of the 185,386 patients diagnosed in the region. There are special chest clinics in Riyadh, Jeddah and Taif to treat TB patients.