World Stop TB Day

24 March 2006

More people are dying of TB today than ever before. If left unmonitored the World Health Organization estimates that almost one billion people will become newly infected, 200 million will develop the disease, and 35 million will die of it.

World Stop TB Day 2006 therefore provides CPA members with another unrivalled opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to the eradication of Tuberculosis (TB).

Actions For Life: towards a world free of Tuberculosis, this year's theme, beckons us to immediate involvement.

Pharmacists must strive to be proactive and in so doing adopt new strategies to assist patients. A pilot project being conducted in India in which pharmacists administer medication by the DOTS method points to an additional service that can be offered to patients. This demonstrates that pharmacists are equipped to play a more direct role in the management of diseases and are in an ideal position to facilitate access to medicines and encourage drug adherence.

In addition to dispensing or administering medicines, we can contribute to the eradication of TB by providing reliable and accurate health information, offering guidance and support to persons living with the disease and building a strong pharmacist-patient alliance.  I exhort pharmacists to get involved. The time to act is now.

E. Grace Allen Young, DPharm, MRPharmS, CPP
President
Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Association