World TB Day 2002 - In the News

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Headline: 104-million-dollar World Bank loan to fight tuberculosis in China
Date: March 22, 2002, Friday

BODY:
The World Bank Wednesday approved a 104- million-dollar loan to China for national tuberculosis control efforts.

The 20-year loan includes an eight-year grace period, achieved through a 37-million-dollar grant from the United Kingdom Department for International Development. China has at least 400 million people with tuberculosis infection, though the vast majority will never suffer symptoms. About 5 million Chinese are sick from the disease, with 1.3 million new active cases every year and 150,000 tuberculosis deaths.

Infection rates are higher in rural areas.

"This new loan will help expand free access to high quality TB care in the poorest regions of China, ensure that the national programme gets sustainable funding, and helps to adopt a nationwide approach to tackling TB control in China," Jagadish Upadhyay, the project team leader in the World Bank's East Asia and the Pacific Human Development Sector.

Existing World Bank-financed programmes in China have achieved cure rates of more than 90 per cent, the bank said.

The World Bank loan will allow 16 Chinese provinces to implement testing, treatment and control programmes recommended by the World Health Organization.

China is among 23 countries that suffer 80 per cent of the world's burden from tuberculosis.

"Our work to date with high TB-burden countries has shown that investment in TB can make a difference in reducing suffering, death and disease transmission," said World Bank President James Wolfensohn. "Our partnerships with governments, technical agencies, NGOs and communities enable better use of the resources available and help overcome obstacles in our path." dpa ff

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