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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

More than $1.6 million for second phase of project "Control of Tuberculosis in Serbia"

Belgrade, 13 October 2006

Serbian Minister of Health Tomica Milosavljevic said today that The Global Fund has approved $1,658,993 for the second phase of the project "Control of Tuberculosis in Serbia", based on the results achieved in controlling the disease in Serbia thus far.

Author: Beta

Milosavljevic told a press conference, that The Global Fund gave the highest assessment for the first phase of the project, which is being implemented from December 1, 2004 to November 30, 2006, and for which Serbia received $ 2,428,968, adding that the second phase of the project will last from December 1, 2006 until November 30, 2009.

He explained that the main aim of the second phase is to prevent the appearance of types of tuberculosis which are resistant to medication and which surface when first line anti-tuberculosis medication is not used properly. The Minister added that tuberculosis is a curable disease which can be dealt with successfully by health workers.

Head of the Serbian tuberculosis committee Gordana Radosavljevic-Asic said that the number of people suffering from tuberculosis in Serbia is gradually decreasing, and added that during the previous year the ratio of those with tuberculosis was 32 out of 100,000 individuals.

Radosavljevic-Asic said that in 2005 in Serbia 2,366 cases of tuberculosis were recorded, and in 2002 this figure was 2,850, making the ratio of tuberculosis patients 38 out of 100,000 individuals, while the recovery rate is 88%, and fatality rate is 3%.

According to Radosvljevic-Asic, among those who are suffering from tuberculosis 32% are older than 65, and the rate is lowest for children below 15 years of age - 0.8%, and the number of male patients is higher.

She explained that the highest rate of multi-resistant tuberculosis is seen in the Baltic countries - Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, where it is 14%, and that Serbia, with 2,366 registered cases, is among countries with a medium rate of patients, and the rate at which types of multi-resistant tuberculosis are appearing is not alarming.

Radosavljevic-Asic said that the number of tuberculosis patients is smallest in the district of Pirot, while the highest number of patients has been recorded in the districts of Kolubara, Pcinj, Sabac and Toplicki.

Coordinator of the project "Controlling Tuberculosis in Serbia" Natasa Lazarevic pointed to the fact that the number of patients in Serbia has reduced since the beginning of the project, which aims to reduce the ratio to 25 new patients out of 100,000 individuals by November 30, 2009, when the second phase of the project will end.

Lazarevic stressed that Serbia succeeded in the first phase of the project to strengthen the capacities of health establishments and completely prepare the strategy of directly observed therapy (DOTS), which is insisted upon by the World Health Organisation.

In the second phase of the project, besides these activities, disease control measures will be implemented in high risk groups, and work will be done on prevention of multi-resistant strains of the disease.