TB'S -1.23 MILLION- TAB : WHO GLOBAL ESSAY

THE FOUNDING FATHER of Proud Pakistan Esteemed and ever revered Mohammed Ali Jinnah, died of TB. AROUND 1950s, I saw my father kneel and weep by the grave of my youngest uncle.
Dr. Mohammed Akber Khan Hashmi Querishi, was a Saint-Legend then and now, of his time.

And then, soon thereafter, my great friend and classmate at Presentation Convent, Qazi Zahid, too died,  right before my eyes. 

'' TB. Wretched Poverty!, '' my father said, wiping his tears. '' Nothing worked. Couldn't cure both of them. '' Unable to understand my father's soliloquy, I too wept in unison.

GENEVA : '' TB KILLED 1.23 million last year. '' On The World Students Society, the Global Founder Framers have begun stirring to identify all options for their Jihad against Tuberculosis, the world leading infectious killer.

WHO, just last Wednesday, warned that recent gains made against TB were getting and growing more and more fragile.

Deaths from TB were down three percent from 2023, while cases dropped by nearly 2 percent, the World Health Organization said in the annual review.

An estimated 10.7 million people worldwide fell ill with TB in 2024. 6.8 million men and 2.7 million women and 1.2 million children.

A preventable and curable disease, tuberculosis is caused by bacteria that most often affects the lungs. It spreads through the air when people with TB cough, sneeze and spit.

NOW, TB cases and deaths are both declining '' for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, which disrupted services said Tereza Kasaerva, head of the WHO department for HIV, TB hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections.

'' Funding cuts and persistent drivers of the epidemic threaten to undo hard-won gains, but with political commitment, sustained investment, and global solidarity we can turn the tide and end this ancient killer once and for all,'' she said.

Funding for the fight against TB has stagnated since 2020.

The World Students Society thanks AFP.