World TB Day 2003
As celebrated by AIM.

Theme: DOTS cure me it will cure you too

Venue: Identity Merge and Action-AIM
Main road Barkatpur Po Box 1060
Faisalabad 38090,
Tel: 9241-545394, Fax 9241-720157
Email: aimngo@brain.net.pk
Number of participants 165

Background of the program

AIM is an organization working with community at grassroots level. AIM is focusing these fields (Health Education and Agriculture). In health sector we are working on TB treatment and awareness. Due to some social back ground and problems we started the program with 10 poor urban areas. These are the basics reasons of improper health

- lack of nutritious diet
- lack of awareness about the importance of health
- lack of resources
- and unlimited working hours

We started the program in 1999, with the funding for one year but still we made it sustainable. Now we had limited our focus due to our limited resources. We had registered 295 patients, and 130 had completed their treatment. Every year we celebrate the world TB Day to expand movement to more people. AIM’s purpose is to stop TB and prevent people form such disease. So we organized a program on World TB day.

Aims of the program

To make peope aware about TB

To make them aware that the TB is curable disease

To make them aware about need and importance of DOTS

To give them awareness about prevention

To encourage them to play their role for its elimination

• Welcome session
• Introduction of the AIM
• Speech on TB
• Questioning segment
• Role play (Theme: TB is Infectious)
• DOTS cure me it will cure you too (Patients comments )
• Words by the guests
• DOTS therapy

Welcome session

First the project officer MR. Pervaize had very warm welcome to audience and the guest special guests, He said today our guest are AIM director Mr. Anthony Matthew Gill and Health Coordinator Dr. Yousaf Ikram

AIM introduction

The stage secretary invited Ms. Bernadit for AIM introduction. She discussed that AIM is and organization that is working with different communities for their development. She explained that AIM working in the fields of Health, Education and Agriculture.

Speech on TB

Then Mr. Pervaiz invited Ms. Nargis,she explained that TB is such disease about that we cannot say in the light of history. Its history is nearly started with the beginning of the mankind. As its impacts can be seen in Egyptian history. The disease is considered in incurable a long time. She discussed that in 24^th March1882 scientist Robert found it germ called Mycobacterium Tuberculosis.

So with the discovery of the germ it treatment became possible. Because of this every year on 24^th March the whole world celebrates World TB Day.

She said after passing more then a century still people still have no much awareness about it. She explained that due to improper use of medicines and lack of proper TB control, it is spreading in developing countries sharply. She said that with a common

Opinion 300000 people died and 900000 people become TB patients every year. They are 95% from developing countries and 05 in developed countries. With survey of WHO the germ of TB has interred in 80% people of age of 25 years. In the beginning AIM started to refer Patients to Civil hospital but then AIM open a TB treatment center. In this way AIM registered 146 patients in one year period. In the years of 2002 AIM certified 56 patients on the completion of their treatment. Now 130 patients have completed their treatment successfully.

Questioning segment

The program was organized for the completed patients, patients under treatment and most recent registered patients.AIM also invited the field of different projects that have awareness about the TB.On the demand and interest this segment was organized, in this the audience asked following questions from the AIM’s consultant.

1.What is TB,its causes, affects and how it infect person to person.
2.One person asked which disease is more serious either TB or diabetes.
3.One patient asked, please explain DOTS and its effectiveness.
4.What is the role of diet in TB treatment ?
5.One very visionary person asked that why WHO is very serious for the TB treatment.

Role play (Theme: TB is Infectious)

The stage secretary invited some health members and also the small three children of a worker for Role-play, they performed the script with them of "TB is Infectious disease". They gave the message with story of an old TB patient. They discussed how TB transfer from sick to other family members especially children.

DOTS cure me it will cure you too (Patients comments)
To discuss the theme and to give the Message we invited completed and running patients.

 We invited a guest from government and requested for comment. He said that program is very effective for the common people and provided lot of information preventive methods. He said that such program can change of society and improve health standard then thanked for all.

Demonstration of DOTS therapy.

To make understand that what is DOTS. AIM’s health team demonstrated DOTS to the people with the help of present patients.TB patients took their medicine in the morning but just to explain and to demonstrate the AIM’s health team provided vitamins during the program that how field coordinator observes the patients while taking their medicine.

Concluding Remarks.

The program was concluded with the closing remarks of AIM’s Executive Secretary Mr.Anthony Matthew Gill that AIM is working on TB awareness and its treatment since 1999,now the informations regarding the program expanded to near all urban areas and also in the working rural areas. The growing rate of TB is increasing day by day,AIM is also struggling hard to raise more funds and resources to accommodate more number of patients. We also requesting your moral and financial supports for this gesture.

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