KULOB, January 23, Asia-Plus - A work on rehabilitation of healthcare system intended for preventing spread of tuberculosis has started in the villages of Kaftarkhona and Pakhtakor in the Vose district of Khatlon.   

Speaking to journalists, chairman of the Vose district Alamurod Taghoymurodov said that a total cost of this program projected for two years is 4.4 million somonis.  According to him, the funds will be allocated from the country’s budget.  “The first 65,000 somonis have already been provided,” Taghoymurodov said.   

“The tuberculosis rate in Vose is high; at present 956 residents of the district are undergoing medical treatment for TB,” the Vose chairman said, noting that 180 cases of tuberculosis were revealed in the district last year alone.  

The construction of a large TB-treatment facility will start soon in the village of Voseobod.  “The government has provided 13 million somonis for the construction of this medical facility,” Taghoymurodov said.  According to him, the construction of a rural hospital with a total of 120 beds started in Voseobod in the Eighties of the 20 ^th century but because of lack of finance the construction was suspended.  “This half-finished building will be used for the construction of the TB-treatment facility,” the Vose chairman said.  

Local medical workers name poverty, natural disasters, unemployment, poor housing conditions and nutrition, and rising drug abuse as contributing factors.  All of these factors contribute to the appearance of chronic forms of tuberculosis, an increased incidence of infection, the spread of the disease, and the number of fatalities, according to them.