In order to achieve the global goal of tuberculosiselimination by 2035 and realize the vision of “zero TB death, zero new TBinfections, zero TB suffering”, the resources of health and social welfare inTaiwan have been integrated successfully by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW)since its establishment in 2013, said the Health Minister Chiang Bing-huang todayat the event of the World Tuberculosis Day on March 24, hosted by the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC).Nevertheless, local health departments and social welfare agencies haveremained different administrative entities of local government. To improve the efficiencyof the existing TB prevention efforts and assist the establishment of acooperative model, MOHW will assist local government in merging their domestic healthand social welfare resources, which aims to provide financial assistance to economicallydisadvantaged TB patients, reduce their barriers to timely health care as wellas their financial burden, encourage them to receive medical treatment andincrease the TB cure rate through the Taiwan CDC’s Tuberculosis DOTS programand a cooperative social platform.

The Taiwan CDC Director-General Steve Kuo saidthat in many countries TB patients were underprivileged and vulnerable. DOTSobservers found a large proportion of TB patients being delayed in seekingproper medical treatments or diagnosed too late due to financial difficulties. SomeTB patients did not want to take time off work to be admitted to the hospitalor return to the hospital regularly due to financial worries. To make things worse,TB patients often do not have the information on assistance for people affectedby emergencies. As a result, they often miss the chance of getting immediate helpand lead to further TB transmission within families or even in communities. Inthe future, TB patients’ medical care will be combined and integrated with thesocial network. Economically disadvantaged TB patients will be located and assistedin time to elevate their willingness to receive medical treatment and the TBcure rate while reducing the risk of TB transmission.

Li Mei-Jen, the Director of the Department ofSocial Assistance and Social Work, also said that after the health and socialwelfare cooperative platform has been created, the economically disadvantagedTB patients, who previously could only be reached through the welfare consultationhotline or introduced by social workers, would be able to obtain more medicalcare assistance. Through cooperation with Taiwan CDC, public health workers mayactively discover the TB patients who have financial difficulties or thelow-income people and the homeless who are affected by TB during their DOTShome visits. The issue can be addressed swiftly and the financial aids can beprovided promptly. Through the cooperative platform, the concern expressed bythe government and the public can offer comfort to the underprivileged people, buildtrust among front-line health workers and TB patients, strengthen the patients’willingness to adhere to treatment, and finally raise the TB cure rate.

Battlingtuberculosis requires a tremendous amount of resources and money. Stringenttreatment adherence is the only way to beat the disease. Taiwan CDC hopes to combinethe power of TB patients, public health workers and social workers to reducethe patients’ financial barriers in seeking medical treatments, fightshoulder-to-shoulder with the public against tuberculosis and protect publichealth. For more information, please visit the official website of Taiwan CDC（http://www.cdc.gov.tw） or dial the toll-freehotline 1922 (or 0800-001922 ) or the welfare consultation hotline 1957.