MENTARI TB, Muhammadiyah Contribution to End TB

MENTARI TB, Muhammadiyah Contribution to End TB

MUHAMMADIYAH.OR.ID, KENDAL— Indonesia is the second-ranked country, after India, regarding its contribution to developed tuberculosis (TB) worldwide, with 969,000 TB cases and 93,000 deaths per year, equivalent to 11 deaths every hour, according to the official website of the Ministry of Health. Due to this alarming TB mortality rate, Muhammadiyah has collaborated with USAID to design the Mentari TB Recovery Plan.

The project aims to improve diagnosis, services, and treatment for TB patients at private healthcare facilities. Through the TB recovery plan, USAID MENTARI TB has performed screening of TB for more than four million patients in 48 Muhammadiyah hospitals across nine provinces.

As a result, Muhammadiyah found approximately 48,379 suspected TB cases, with 19,000 confirmed as TB cases. These numbers underscore the urgent need for effective management and treatment. Remarkably, more than 92% of the confirmed patients have undergone treatment, indicating awareness and strong collaboration among all stakeholders to end the disease.

As part of the MENTARI TB, several Muhammadiyah-‘Aisyiyah hospitals have been equipped with modern and essential medical equipment for TB treatment such as Molecular Rapid Tests, mobile X-Ray, specimen refrigerators, shielding, and radiation protection personal protective equipment (PPE). These advancements enable the hospitals to undertake the diagnosis and treatment of TB patients.

Through this collaboration, USAID and Muhammadiyah successfully treated 7,740 TB patients, showing the program’s effectiveness. Agus Taufiqurrahman, Chairman of Muhammadiyah, said that Muhammadiyah healthcare services are an integral part of this organization’s mission to enlighten and serve the community, the nation, and universal humanity. The high TB mortality rate serves as a rallying cry for Muhammadiyah to continue making tangible contributions to the improvement of public health.

“The high mortality rate, particularly Indonesia ranking second for TB cases, triggers Muhammadiyah to give more contribution to the community and the nation,” said Agus at the Muhammadiyah World Tuberculosis Day on Wednesday (21/6) at the Auditorium of Muhammadiyah Islamic Hospital of Kendal.

Agus also highlighted the importance of raising public awareness of the dangers of TB and called on all stakeholders to actively participate in the prevention and appropriate treatment of TB. A comprehensive and collaborative approach is vital in ending TB. With its extensive network of hospitals and healthcare centers nationwide, Muhammadiyah commits to providing the best healthcare services to the community.