The World Health Organization is implementing a program to contain tuberculosis in Central Asia by the end of the decade. 

Health ministers from the five Central Asian states signed a joint declaration earlier in April to bolster cooperation on prevention measures, and coordinate activities with the WHO. The initiative is designed to “turbo-charge” efforts to “end TB in the subregion by 2030,” according to a WHO statement. 

“This landmark subregional initiative will serve as a model for other countries both in the WHO European Region and beyond that are facing a significant or growing TB burden, providing opportunities for cross-border collaboration at a time when it’s needed more than ever,” the statement quoted Hans Henri Kluge, the WHO’s Regional Director for Europe. 

The initiative seeks to expand the use of rapid diagnostic tests, improve treatment success rates for oral-only treatments, speed up and widen distribution of TB vaccines and make TB treatment more readily available at primary healthcare facilities throughout the region. 

TB and drug resistant-TB (DR-TB) “has long posed a significant public health threat in Central Asia,” the WHO statement notes, citing over 35,000 TB and around 8,000 DR-TB cases being reported annually. 

“Four of the five Central Asian countries rank among the top 30 high-burden DR-TB nations worldwide,” according to the WHO. “In three of these countries, DR-TB rates exceed 50 percent among previously treated patients, and range from 26 percent to 34 percent among new patients, contributing to a quarter of the global DR-TB burden.” 

“We are now closer than ever to achieving success but navigating this final phase will be challenging,” Kluge said. “It will demand political dedication and consistent investments in diagnostics, treatment and universal health coverage to reach everyone in need.” 

Meanwhile, Central Asian health authorities are confronting new public health threats, including an outbreak of measles. Kyrgyzstan’s Health Ministry has issued a notice that the “the epidemiological situation in the country for measles and rubella has deteriorated.” Kyrgyz health officials reported in March that eight children had died from measles. They added that 95 percent of those afflicted had not been vaccinated.