Kathmandu, Apr. 6: Various donor countries involved in Nepal’s Tuberculosis prevention programme have praised the success Nepal has gained in the sector within a very short span of time and suggested the government make the programme more effective.

The participating experts and the group of technicians have made various recommendations at the fifth annual review meeting organised here to evaluate Nepal’s National Tuberculosis Prevention Programme.

The meeting was organised here recently under the auspices of the world health organisation and the national tuberculosis centre of the ministry of health.

Earlier, the technical experts’ group made an on-the-spot inspection, studied the problems and collected suggestions at the health posts in all the five development regions of the country where the tuberculosis prevention and the directly observed treatment short-course (D.O.T.S.) Programme have been launched.

Addressing the meeting, health secretary Srikant Regmi said that although there were many problems in the health sector in the country, the government has given a top priority to tuberculosis prevention programme.

He expressed the determination that His Majesty’s Government would make sincere efforts to implement the suggestions of the foreign experts’ team based on its observation of Nepal’s tuberculosis programme.

Chest specialist and director of the scientific department of the International Anti-Tuberculosis Association Prof. (Dr.) Donald Emerson said that the study carried out by various national and international experts, including himself, found that the health care facilities, the situation of medicine supply, patient examination wards and laboratories they studied at various DOTS centres and sub-centres were satisfactory.

The diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis patients in Nepal is done in a short period of four years, he said, adding due to better management there was a feeling of commitment and cooperation for the programme at the local, national and international levels.

Among the suggestions of the group include long term supply of quality medicines at various D.O.T.S. Centres across the country, provision of the required health manpower and quality laboratories at every primary health care centre and health posts, involvement of the private sector and medical institutes for the success of the D.O.T.S. Programme and implementation of an effective tuberculosis control programme at the border areas.

At the meeting director of the national tuberculosis centre and the SAARC Tuberculosis Centre Dr. Dirgha Singh Bam described tuberculosis as the main public health problem of Nepal and pledged to rectify the weaknesses seen in the implementation of the National Tuberculosis Prevention Programme.

President of the Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association (JATA) Dr. M. Aoki said that the success of the tuberculosis prevention programme in a geographically diverse country like Nepal meant the worldwide success of the programme.

Dr. Nani Nayar, senior chest physician Dr. Kashikant Jha, Dr. Rajendra Panta and others also expressed their views at the meeting presided over by director general of the Department of Health services Mr. B.D. Chataut.