This #AwarenessWednesday, we will discuss Tuberculosis and its prevalence among children worldwide. Tuberculosis is the world's leading infectious cause of death. Of the 10 million new cases in 2017, 1 million of those were children under 15 years. Massive under-diagnoses of children has led to only 7.1% of cases being reported to tuberculosis programs. Around 10% of all tuberculosis cases are children, with a majority of these cases coming from Asia.
Four gaps that lead to child deaths from tuberculosis
*Prevention gap- failure to prevent TB disease for at-risk children
*Detection gap- failure to diagnose TB disease in children
*Treatment gap- failure to ensure timely access to effective treatment
*Research/ Investment gap- failure to prioritize research and investment on the children's needs.
What can be done?
*Proper response requires a focus on maternal and child health.
*Nutrition policies and strategies must be increased, and scaling up current tools.
*Furthermore, increased operations needs income to be sustainable- thus investment and
development of new technologies would further
assist in preventing and treating cases of childhood TB.
Every day around 700 children die from Tuberculosis, most of them before they even reach their fifth birthday. These deaths are preventable, treatment exists, but access doesn't for many. Less than 5% of these kids receive any medical attention regarding their TB.
For more information, visit: https://data.unicef.org/resources/change-game-agenda-action-childhood-tuberculosis/
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