– During the ceremony, the Ministry recognized the work of Dr. Álvaro Yáñez del Villar, the first director of the program.
On World Tuberculosis Day, the Ministry of Health commemorated the 50th anniversary of the National Tuberculosis Program, a national plan, with universal and completely free coverage for all those in need, regardless of the insurance system.
During the ceremony, Minister Ximena Aguilera stated that “tuberculosis also teaches us” that the only way to adequately address the problems with universal health coverage is that the National Tuberculosis Program is somehow implemented, a disease that has a guarantee before the guarantees existed. given by the health code”, which emphasized that “all access to free treatment is funded by the fund and that is the example that I would like to have in any health”.
However, the highest authority of health thought “despite all the satisfaction that we can have during these years and the progress we have made in tuberculosis, we cannot forget that we have social groups at the greatest risk and conditions continue. habitability, the politics of social housing, all these influences or the risk of tuberculosis transmission they can continue or increase”, saying that “it is a condition that we should not ignore”.
Meanwhile, the representative of PAHO/QUI in Chile, Luis Leanes, was stressed by the National Tuberculosis Program of the Ministry of Health “to be available to all health services and all Chileans, all the tools and procedures that must be given to continue to progress in this disease”, and added “this year a director WHO would be called to the dissemination of activities, in which the initiative is about making ready all the access to the new technologies that are available.
While Nadia Escobar, head of the National Tuberculosis Program Minsal, mentioned “About thirty years ago, the World Health Organization declared that tuberculosis is a global health emergency and, despite the efforts of the regions, today tuberculosis is still an infectious disease. The most deaths around the world. Therefore, the role of national tuberculosis programs all over the world it is flourishing more than ever.
During the ceremony, the Ministry of Health recognized the invaluable contribution to the public health of the country, by Dr Álvaro Yáñez del Villar, the first director of the National Tuberculosis Program.
Dr. Yáñez stated that “the tuberculosis control program is a success, success is rarely mentioned, tuberculosis never makes a lot of noise, and success is exclusive to public health, we are proud that it is so and the disease. It is a model of many things that can be done in this field”.
Each March 24, World Tuberculosis Day is commemorated, with the aim of raising awareness of the consequences of this disease and its impact on health, socially and economically, also on March 24, 1882 Dr. Robert Koch announced the discovery of the causative agent. tuberculosis, opening the way to the diagnosis, treatment and cure of this disease.
Tuberculosis continues to be one of the most lethal infectious diseases in the world, every day approximately 4,400 people lose their lives and approximately 30,000 become ill from this preventable and curable health problem.
Global efforts to combat tuberculosis have saved an estimated 74 million lives since 2000. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and socio-economic inequalities in the fight against tuberculosis have progressed over the years.
Chile receives a donation of anti-tuberculosis drugs from Brazil
On this day, the Brazilian embassy in Chile held a ceremony of appreciation and symbolic delivery of anti-tuberculosis drugs, which took place on February 9 and consisted of 20,000 tablets of isoniazid; more than 148,000 combination tablets of rifampicin, isoniazid, ethambutol, and pyrazinamide; more than 160,000 combined dose tablets of rifampicin and isoniazid.
Minister Aguilera said “I am happy with the opportunity to hold this ceremony to thank the Brazilian government for the humanitarian aid that once again gave us a symbol of the commitment between the two countries and the friendship we have had for decades.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian ambassador in Chile Paul Soares said “at the end of 2022, when the embassy requested a donation of drugs from the Chilean government, all efforts were made between different ministries for the supply of drugs. In February 2023, three types of drugs were sent.
Meeting with Unitaid
On World Tuberculosis Day, Minister Ximena Aguilera held a coordination meeting with the president of the United Board of Directors, Marisol Touraine, on the global health drive organized by WHO.
Chile is the founder of the body whose purpose is to find new solutions to prevent, diagnose and find diseases more quickly, economically and effectively in low and middle income countries, and which carries out activities to address the main diseases. such as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and malaria, as well as HIV coinfections and comorbidities, cervical cancer and hepatitis C, and cross-cutting areas such as fever control.
