Activists oppose TB discrimination

Adianto P. Simamora ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 02/22/2008 5:00 PM  |  National

Health activists are blaming discrimination against tuberculosis-infected workers on the government's poor implementation of a program meant to fight the disease in the workplace.

The program was introduced two years ago, but not one company operating in Indonesia has set up a special TB management task force, they said Wednesday.

The Health Ministry acknowledged the ineffectiveness of the program, blaming a lack of funds.

"We have received many complaints from TB patients. They said some companies dismissed workers who had the disease, while other firms sent workers home for special treatment," the executive director of the Coalition for a Healthy Indonesia, Firman Lubis, said during a seminar on TB.

The event, hosted by the coalition, was meant to gather together businesspeople to discuss efforts to fight discrimination against tuberculosis patients in the workplace.

None of the invited businesspeople were in attendance.

"We invited dozens of businesspeople to tell them about the DOTS program. This shows that they have yet to take care of the health aspect of their employees," Firman said.

He urged labor organizations to pressure companies to improve health facilities in the workplace.

To support the fight against TB in the workplace, the government is developing a pilot project for the directly observed treatment (DOTS) program, an international healthcare management system for tuberculosis.

"We plan to set up a pilot project for the DOTS program at 40 companies this year," said Wayan Diantika, head of the Health Ministry's tuberculosis unit.

He said the pilot project would be carried out in Jakarta, Banten, East Java, West Java, East Kalimantan and South Sulawesi.

The ministry launched the DOTS program in 2006, requiring all companies to set up clinics to treat TB patients in the workplace.

"With the program, a patient only needs six months to recover," Wayan said.

He said the government would provide free medicine and training for medical personnel at companies hosting the pilot project.

The World Health Organization defines TB as an infectious bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis that primarily affects the lungs. It is transmitted from person to person via droplets from the throat and lungs of people infected with the active respiratory disease.

Indonesia has the world's third highest TB mortality rate after China and India.

The Health Ministry estimates there are about 600,000 TB cases in Indonesia, with 100,000 deaths each year, making it the deadliest disease in the country.

It said that without treatment, each TB patient could transmit the disease to between 10 and 15 people a year.

"It is a worrying figure since 80 percent of TB patients are in the productive ages between 15 and 55," said Firman.

There are currently more than 97 million Indonesian workers aged over 15 years old.

Firman said people's lack of information about TB, its dangers and the unavaibility of free treatment contributed to the high mortality rate.

During the seminar, the coalition launched a book, The Journey of TB Advocacy, Communications and Social Mobilization, which was sponsored by ExxonMobil Oil Indonesian Inc.

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