DHARAMSHALA: To commemorate this year’s World TB Day and strengthen the administration’s efforts to prevent the disease, the health department of the Central Tibetan Administration in collaboration with Delek Hospital and Tibetan National Sports Association (TNSA) will organise “Run for TB Marathon” on Sunday, 23 March. The event is funded by PRM, USA.
The registration of the runners will begin from 8:30 am onwards at TCV Day school and the marathon is scheduled to kick off at 9:45 am.
The 4.5 km-long marathon starts from TCV Day School Mcleod Ganj through Mcleod Ganj Main Square, Upper TCV Road, TCV Handicraft Chowk, Forsyth Ganj Police Station, Main Road to Mcleod (via St. John’s Church) and ends at TCV Day School.
“The event aims to create widespread awareness about TB in the Tibetan community which has witnessed significant loss of lives due to TB disease since the last five decades,” Trinley Palmo, an official of the health department, told Tibet.Net.
“We request everyone to participate in the marathon to show your active support and commitment for this important cause of TB awareness in the Tibetan community and to advocate for the larger goal of a Tibetan community free of TB in the near future. You are also welcome to either simply jog or walk during this event to disseminate the important message of TB prevention,” Palmo said.
“TB has been a major public health problem in the Tibetan community since the last fifty years. Social determinants related to exiled life mainly congested living conditions and high mobility have led to high rate of TB in this community in addition to other risk factors like inadequate adherence to TB treatment and lack of awareness about TB prevention. Therefore, it is imperative to inform the community at large about prevention of TB particularly MDR TB especially among the youths and at the monastic and school level,” the health department said in a statement.
The slogan for World Tuberculosis Day is “Reach the 3 million”, according to Wealth Health Organisation.
“TB is curable, but current efforts to find, treat and cure everyone who gets ill with the disease are not sufficient. Of the 9 million people a year who get sick with TB, a third of them are “missed” by health systems. Many of these 3 million people live in the world’s poorest, most vulnerable communities or are among marginalized populations such as migrant workers, refugees and internally displaced persons, prisoners, indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities and drug users,” WHO said.
In 2012, there were an estimated 8.6 million new cases of TB and 1.3 million people died from TB, it said.
