Nairobi, March 25 : The World Health Organisation (WHO) commended Kenya for its sustained efforts in fighting tuberculosis (TB).

Diallo Abdourahmane, WHO country representative in Kenya, said the East African nation has made significant progress. Among the seven high-TB-burden countries globally, Kenya achieved a 41 per cent reduction in TB incidence and a 60 per cent reduction in TB deaths in 2023.

"The country remains a pathfinder in the region for scaling up digital tools, rapid molecular diagnostics, and shorter, more effective treatment regimens while embracing innovations," Abdourahmane said during the commemoration of World Tuberculosis Day in Nairobi, Kenya's capital.

The UN official said that with the impact of climate change that is impacting food security, resulting in undernutrition and posing a potential threat and compounding vulnerabilities to TB, countries in eastern Africa need to put more effort into the management of tuberculosis, Xinhua news agency reported.

Mary Muriuki, principal secretary at the Ministry of Health, highlighted Kenya's impressive 89 per cent treatment success rate, underscoring the effectiveness of the country's innovative TB care strategies.

She said that Kenya has also made significant strides in tackling drug-resistant TB, with 750 patients starting second-line treatment.

"The introduction of shorter, patient-friendly regimens for multidrug-resistant TB and rifampicin-resistant TB has significantly improved patient adherence and health outcomes," she noted.

Muriuki said that Kenya, like many countries in the WHO African region, continues to experience high TB incidence and mortality. It remains one of the top 20 high-burden TB and TB/HIV countries globally, collectively accounting for 80 per cent of incident cases.

In 2023 alone, Kenya recorded an estimated 124,000 TB cases and 15,000 deaths, making tuberculosis the leading cause of death in the country, according to the Ministry of Health.

According to the WHO, TB remains a persistent global health challenge and the leading cause of death from infectious diseases, despite being both preventable and curable.

World Tuberculosis Day was observed on March 24. The day is used to build public awareness about the global epidemic of tuberculosis and efforts to eliminate the disease. In 2018 as many as 10 million people fell ill with TB, and 1.5 million died from the disease, mostly in low and middle-income countries.

/IANS