Tuberculosis in Indonesia: Organizations Seek Eradication

SEATTLE, Washington — According to information provided by the World Health Organization, about 1.8 billion people globally have tuberculosis. Indonesia is one such country that struggles with this deadly disease. Statistics indicate that Indonesia is the world’s third-most TB afflicted country after China and India with a contributing global rate of 8% in 2018. While Indonesia has made strides in improving citizens’ health, tuberculosis continues to be a health concern that has proven difficult to manage. However, various international institutions have stepped forward to provide aid in the fight against tuberculosis in Indonesia.

Organizations Fighting Tuberculosis

1. USAID: One international institution that has been helping to bring an end to tuberculosis in Indonesia is USAID. USAID implemented the Challenge TB project, which extended from 2015 to 2019. The program worked closely alongside the Indonesia National TB program to help provide the best quality care in tuberculosis treatment. Such care includes improving the Indonesian healthcare system’s ability to detect tuberculosis and to ensure that local governments have the funding to fight against TB. In the past four years alone, Challenge TB has created “35 multidrug-resistant tuberculosis referral hospitals in 32 provinces” in Indonesia. Furthermore, It has increased the number of detected cases by 20%
2. The United Nations: The U.N. is also making large-scale concerted efforts to fight tuberculosis around the world. Under the declaration “United to End Tuberculosis: An Urgent Global Response to a Global Epidemic,” the United Nations plans to give much-needed care and treatment for tuberculosis to 40 million people by the year 2022. This declaration extends the fight against tuberculosis in Indonesia as well. Additionally, the United Nations also dedicated a U.N. High-Level Meeting in 2018 to fighting tuberculosis. In 2018, the U.N. High-Level Meeting on TB aimed to achieve a number of goals. Such goals include providing the needed amount of funds for various countries to fight tuberculosis and ensuring that tuberculosis treatment will be equitable for all. These two acts will help ensure various countries, including Indonesia, receive the necessary healthcare support to fight tuberculosis.
3. The Global Fund: The Global Fund is yet another international institution that puts forth efforts to fight tuberculosis. In 2018, the Global Fund organized grants for Indonesia. Oriented to fight tuberculosis, these grants will help Indonesia to provide sufficient detection and medical attention to 1.8 million TB cases. The grants will also help ensure that Indonesia can raise its rates of successful tuberculosis treatment by up to 90%. For drug-resistant forms of TB, the rate would improve by 65% and 75%. The government and civil society partners will employ these funds to try to reach these goals and successfully combat the disease.

Hope on the Horizon

Indonesia’s battle with tuberculosis has not been easy. However, with the support of institutions stepping forward to provide aid and assistance, the fight against tuberculosis in Indonesia looks hopeful. The hope remains that as a result of these efforts, Indonesia will soon see significantly reduced numbers of tuberculosis afflictions. Perhaps, it will see even further positive impacts on the strength of its overall healthcare system. Through the continued efforts of organizations like these, the lives of countless TB patients may be saved, not just in Indonesia but all around the world.