ISLMABAD, Jan 15: The Ministry of Health on Thursday launched national data about patients of tuberculosis under its National TB control Programme (NTP) at a ceremony.

Besides this, a manual for health care providers giving guidelines on the treatment of TB patients was also launched

TB continues to be a major health problem in the country as every year 300,000 new TB patients add to the existing ones.

Both ‘quality assurance manual’ and data base “national logistics and management information system” aim to improve the quality of communication between the patient and health care providers.

The quality assurance manual focuses on training the health care provider since the quality of communication is important to ensure the completion of a full eight months treatment of tuberculosis.

The manual comprises eight chapters each of which focuses on different interpersonal skills. However, the data base is meant for measuring the progress of TB communications activities by public and private sector partners.

In his presentation, Dr Muhammad Tariq, technical advisor for Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilization (ACMS) talked about the document. The manual he said would be used to prepare a critical mass of health care providers for improving interpersonal communication with patients of TB.

The guidelines will serve as the national document to act as the tool for training the service providers, he said.

Dr Noor Ahmad Balouc, National Programme Manager NTP in his detailed presentation shared with the gathering the current status of TB in the country that had a coverage rate as high as 100 per cent, case detection rate 70 per cent and treatment success rate 85 per cent.

The Federal Minister for Health, Mir Aijaz Husain Jhakharani, while speaking on the occasion appreciated the NTP for its consistent performance and increased coverage.

Talking about the new initiative of the NTP he said, though free diagnostic and treatment facilities for TB patients were made available all over the country within the public sector health care delivery network but the challenge was to motivate the patients to utilize these services.

He said one of the major reasons that patients hesitate to go for treatment is the attitude of the health workers as the TB patients needed sympathetic attitude so that they could complete a lengthy course of the treatment and if the relationship between patient and health worker is weak it cause difficulties in treatment.

Dr Kalif Bile, Representative WHO said that the NTP was the most attractive programme in the country in terms of international funding.

Rasheed Jooma, DG Health, and Mahreen Bhutto, Parliamentary Secretary also attended the launching ceremony.