Tuberculosis in China - Reviewing of Strategy

Reviewing of Strategy

Although China achieved the 2005 global targets for tuberculosis control, these are only targets for implementation and monitoring in the national and international efforts to control tuberculosis. More important are the targets of halving the prevalence of, and mortality from, tuberculosis. Countries in the Western Pacific region committed to these targets in 1999, as did the wider international community as part of the MDGs.

To achieve these targets, China needs to address existing challenges to its efforts to control tuberculosis. Foremost is the serious epidemic of MDR tuberculosis. WHO estimates that a third of the world's cases of MDR tuberculosis are in China, even though the country has only 15% of the global burden of tuberculosis. The recent expansion of DOTS should help to limit the development of MDR tuberculosis. But reduction of the existing burden of multidrug resistance will take time, especially since poor-quality DOTS services in some areas and inappropriate treatment of tuberculosis in parts of the hospital system continue to generate new cases of MDR tuberculosis.

The absence of a sound financing mechanism to fully fund tuberculosis services is a further problem. Although funding for tuberculosis services is at its highest level ever, the Ministry of Health estimates that the national tuberculosis control program still had a 23% funding gap in 2005. Additionally, more than a quarter of current funding comes from external grants and loans, making sustainable funding a major challenge.

Another challenge is to make tuberculosis services accessible to the entire population. Although China has a policy of free tuberculosis services, in most places these are available only to permanent residents in a particular community. Urban migrants, who have relocated from poor rural areas to seek a better livelihood, are not eligible for such free services. These vulnerable, predominantly young migrants—now numbering more than 150 million—tend to live and work in crowded environments and are unlikely to seek medical care when they become ill. Such individuals contribute to the spread of tuberculosis, HIV infection, and other infectious diseases within urban centers. The growing epidemic of co-infection with tuberculosis and HIV if left unchecked will substantially increase the number of tuberculosis cases and deaths.

A further difficulty is presented by the shortage of trained health-care workers for tuberculosis control. CDC facilities are being rebuilt across the country but many are staffed inadequately or by poorly trained and unmotivated health-care workers. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, is the challenge of sustaining and further increasing long-term governmental commitment to the control of tuberculosis, which is essential to tackle the other challenges.

China is developing tuberculosis-specific policies and interventions to address these challenges. The new 5-year implementation plan of the national tuberculosis control program (2006–10) has incorporated key elements of the new Stop TB Strategy and the second Global Plan to Stop TB. These include a programmatic approach to diagnosis and treatment of MDR tuberculosis, tuberculosis control in migrants, and tuberculosis/HIV collaborative activities. Additionally, the 5-year plan for implementation of the national HIV/AIDS program aims to stem the rise of the HIV/AIDS epidemic by expanding prevention, treatment, and care activities. Implementation of these new policies and interventions will require a substantial increase in both domestic resources and international support, especially for poor areas in China's central-western provinces.

Although disease-specific interventions are important, further strengthening of the public-health system will be needed if China is to halve the prevalence of tuberculosis and the number of deaths caused by the disease. To increase access, a package of essential public-health services for rural inhabitants and urban migrants should be provided with governmental subsidies. This package should include services for at least tuberculosis, immunisation, HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, and maternal and child health. The government must also address the warped incentives in hospitals that encourage the generation of profits from drugs, tests, and state-of-the-art technologies. This profit generation fuels the inappropriate diagnosis and treatment of many diseases, including tuberculosis. Finally, the government should provide operational costs for public-health services and full salaries for health-care workers, especially at and below the county level, where most of the rural population live. The number of staff needed for essential public-health functions should be carefully calculated, and public-health workers must be given fair pay. Without this, the development and maintenance of a motivated and skilled public-health workforce to meet the challenges of the 21st century will be difficult.

Ultimately, China's progress in the control of tuberculosis and public-health reform will depend on the degree of political commitment to address these challenges. In this regard, the indication by Premier Wen Jiabao, speaking at the National People's Congress in March, 2006, that public health is a key component of the country's 11th 5-year development plan is very encouraging. He highlighted the need to improve rural and urban health services, making them affordable for all, and specifically mentioned the need to control HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and schistosomiasis. With increased governmental commitment and funding to improve public health, China has reason to believe that the prevalence of tuberculosis and deaths caused by the disease can be halved within the next decade.

In conclusion, the Chinese experience has shown that investment in both control programs and health systems—rather than investment in one or the other alone—was needed, and indeed essential, to achieve the 2005 global targets for tuberculosis, and provides an example for developing countries scaling-up efforts to achieve health-related MDGs.