I did not realize that such a large number of Armenians have tuberculosis, or that it was a threat at all.
“This program will run from 2007 through 2015,” said Vahan Poghosian, a senior Armenian Health Ministry official coordinating the anti-TB campaign. “It will involve training courses [for medical personnel], purchase of laboratory equipment and, most importantly, medicines.”According to the source, it costs more than $12,000 to treat someone with tuberculosis. I'm by no means an expert, but wouldn't it be more cost-effective to vaccinate the general population - at least those at risk - than to wait for them to get infected and then try to do something about it?
According to the Health Ministry, the number of people suffering from tuberculosis rose by 18 percent to almost 6,500 between 2000 and 2005.
It was not immediately clear how much the Armenian government plans to spend on its the latest program adopted by ministers at a weekly cabinet meeting. Officials said only that much of the funding for, $7.5 million, will come from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The government of Germany, for its part, will contribute almost $3 million to the effort.
Source: ArmeniaLiberty
