The cause of tuberculosis was discovered on March 24, 1882 by Dr. Robert Koch. The disease is curable, yet according to the latest estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO),
"Of the 9 million people a year who get sick with TB, a third of them are ‘missed’ by health systems. Many of these 3 million people live in the world’s poorest, most vulnerable communities or are among marginalized populations such as migrant workers, refugees and internally displaced persons, prisoners, indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities and drug users.*" MCN works to improve health care for migrants and other vulnerable populations by providing support, technical assistance, and professional development to clinicians around the world.
MCN, through Health Network [1], has shown the importance of patient navigation with its global implementation of TB Net [2]. TB Net enables the transfer of cases, the coordination of care, and the documentation of TB treatment success across world. For more than 18 years the program has focused on ensuring that mobility does not remain an obstacle to continuity of TB care for the mobile poor.
[2]TB Net Summary (2005-2012):
5,540 total TB enrollments
2,951 total clinics in U.S. and over 70 countries
1,187 Followed by TB Net for Active TB
1,001 Completed Treatment = 84.3%
On this World TB day MCN stands with clinicians and patients around the world who fight to end TB suffering and offers TB Net as an effective tool for managing migrant TB patients. Contact Health Network Manager, Ricardo Garay [3] at rgaray@migrantclinician.org [3], for more information about TB Net and other MCN migrant-centered health initiatives.
*source: http://www.who.int/campaigns/tb-day/2014/event/en [4]