Argentina pledges universal TB diagnostics access
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Argentina's health minister, Graciela Ocaña, has stated that all patients with TB "should have access to diagnostics and treatment". She was commenting on the launch of the country's first national TB programme, whose Peso4m ($1.3m) budget for 2009 will double current TB care spending levels. The programme aims to meet Millennium Goal targets for managing the disease and reducing mortality. Annually, around 11,000 people are infected and 800 die from the disease. National prevalence averages at around 27 per 100,000, but the city of Buenos Aires exceeds this by 60%, and some regions, such as Salta and Jujuy, have rates that are up to three times the national average, according to official figures.