Zero TB Karachi: a model for TB elimination in megacities?

Date:

 Thursday, 24 January 2019

Time:

1.00pm – 2.00pm

Venue:

Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health
National University of Singapore
Tahir Foundation Building (MD1), #08-01 Seminar Room 1
12 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117549

Synopsis:

In 2017, 10 million people developed TB, and over 1.6 million died from the disease. Over 95% of TB deaths occur in low and middle-income countries, with seven countries accounting for 64% of the total – India leads the count, followed by Indonesia, China, Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria, and South Africa. The number of new TB patients has declined at an unacceptably slow pace of 1.5% per year since 2000 – at this rate, it will take another two centuries to eliminate the disease. Making real progress against the global TB epidemic requires a shift in the way public health programs address the disease.

Karachi (Pakistan) is the first megacity to achieve scaled implementation of the comprehensive Search, Treat and Prevent approach known as Zero TB, with USD 40m of Global Fund support between 2016-2020. Early results from Karachi will be shared in this presentation.

About the speaker:

Dr Aamir Khan is a medical epidemiologist and social entrepreneur. In 2004, Dr Khan founded Interactive Research and Development (IRD), a Singapore-based not-for-profit committed to improving global health and development through process and technology innovations. IRD has global health delivery teams operating from offices in Dhaka, Dubai, Ho Chi Minh, Jakarta, Johannesburg and Karachi supporting programs in over 20 countries. He leads large scale service delivery grants from Global Fund for diagnosing, treating and preventing TB, HIV and Malaria. His research currently focuses on lung health and immunizations, and sustainable models of free and low-cost health care. Dr Khan is also founder and director of two social businesses that have received over USD 20m of funding. Interactive Health Solutions, based in Singapore, utilizes information technologies and diagnostic market innovations to improve access to health care. Community Health Solutions, based in Karachi, is an aggregator of affordable lung health and chronic diseases care in the private sector. Dr. Khan trained in medicine at the Aga Khan University and has a PhD in international health from the Johns Hopkins University. He has part-time faculty appointments at the Harvard Medical School and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.