HOW TO CONTROL THE TUBERCULOSIS AND HIV/AIDS EPIDEMIC

Many people including those living with HIV do not know that TB is curable. This is a basic message and one thing that is failing to get through. We should know how to get the message to policy- makers and funders that more drugs are needed for both diseases. It is not either/or' there is no point providing ARVs only for patients to die of TB for lack of TB resources. Similarly TB efforts alone are insufficient. HIV/AIDS is dramatically fuelling the TB epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa where up to 70%% of TB patients are co-infected with HIV in some countries. For many years efforts to tackle TB and HIV have been largely separate despite the overlapping epidemiology. Improved collaboration between TB and HIV/AIDS programmes will lead to more effective control of TB among HIV- infected people and to significant public health gains.