Cambodia is becoming a world role model in fighting tuberculosis (TB), rising from the country group with highest prevalence 20 years ago.

The appreciation was made by Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen in his message to mark the World TB Day today, under the theme “The Clock is Ticking! It’s Time to Keep Our Promise, It’s Time to End TB”.

The achievement derives from the collective efforts of all and the expansion of health check and treatment services free of charge using the Directly Observed Treatment Strategy (DOTS) across the country, added Samdech Techo Prime Minister.

Cambodia has reduced the number of TB deaths by 60 percent, from 42 in 2000 to 17 in 2019 per 100,000 population, and dropped the new incidents by 50 percent, from 579 to 287 cases per 100,000 population during the same period.

Cambodia also achieved the millennium development goal to lower the TB infection and death cases four years ahead of the set timeline.

Despite the milestones, Samdech Techo Prime Minister continued to urge collective efforts to further address the disease.

A purpose of the TB Day celebration is to call for the attention of the public about the implications of the disease and to urge their continuous participation in fighting it as well as to promote overall social welfare, he underlined.

Globally, around 10 million people are infected by TB annually, and about 3 million of them still do not have access to proper care and treatment services.