HEAD OF YEREVAN DELEGATION OF ICRC ON TUBERCULOSIS-FIGHT: IT IS NOT THE TIME NOW TO REST ON WHAT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED AND ADMIRE RESULTS
ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Sept 27 2007
ArmInfo. The ICRC has worked hard for many years in Armenia to help
fight TB in the penitentiary system. These efforts have included the
provision of medicine, technical assistance and training, as well as
the construction and equipping of various facilities, including the
National Reference Laboratory, Head of the Yerevan delegation of the
International Committee of Red Cross James Reynolds told ArmInfo.
He said that the standard of TB treatment for prisoners in Armenia has
improved greatly over the years – as a result of better awareness,
infrastructure and staff know-how. As a result the ICRC plans to
gradually hand over its TB control in prisons programme during
2008 to the authorities (i.e. Ministries of Justice and Health). It
should not be forgotten, however, that TB is a difficult disease to
treat, requiring skilled and dedicated health professionals and the
cooperation of both the penitentiary staff and prisoners themselves. It
is essential to avoid complacency, and to continue to build the links
between the prison and civil health sectors – if TB spreads within
the prison system, sooner or later the rest of the population will
suffer too. Finally, Armenia is starting to benefit from important
funding from the Global Fund in this area; this provides an excellent
opportunity to keep the disease under control.
The standard of TB treatment for prisoners in Armenia has
improved greatly over the years – as a result of better awareness,
infrastructure and staff know-how. As a result the ICRC plans to
gradually hand over its TB control in prisons programme during
2008 to the authorities (i.e. Ministries of Justice and Health). It
should not be forgotten, however, that TB is a difficult disease to
treat, requiring skilled and dedicated health professionals and the
cooperation of both the penitentiary staff and prisoners themselves.
It is essential to avoid complacency, and to continue to build the
links between the prison and civil health sectors – if TB spreads
within the prison system, sooner or later the rest of the population
will suffer too. Finally, Armenia is starting to benefit from important
funding from the Global Fund in this area; this provides an excellent
opportunity to keep the disease under control. This issue should
be treated very seriously. I can only say that it is not the time
to rest on what has been achieved and admire the results, James
Reynolds resumed.