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The Ministry of Health (MOH) says the Covid-19 pandemic reversed the gains made in fighting Tuberculosis (TB) in the country.
This was announced when Kenya joined the rest of the world in marking World TB Day on Thursday.
The ministry says, the preventable and curable disease kills more than 4,000 people every day in the country.
The Director of Medical Services at the Health Ministry Andrew Mulwa says, close to 20,000 persons in the country are suffering from the disease.
“Every year we are identifying under 60 percent of the active TB cases, and the 40 percent that we do not identify continue the spread of the infection,” noted Mulwa.
World Health Organization (WHO) Country Representative Juliet Nabyonga says there is a need to put more resources in the fight against TB.
“23 percent of TB Patients and families experience suffering due to the costs incurred while seeking TB care and treatment. This is despite the fact that TB diagnosis and treatment are been provided free of charge in public facilities. What does this mean for us? That as we raise more funding, there is a lot that we need to do,” said Nabyonga.
Counties reporting increased TB cases included; Nairobi, Isiolo, Siaya, Mombasa, Meru, Embu, Turkana, Samburu and Lamu.
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