Overview

Section 1 of 6

Our vision

Section 2 of 6

Our mission

Section 3 of 6

Our history

• 1910: The Tuberculosis Commission is set up, and TB becomes notifiable on a limited scale in Colombo
• 1916–1930: TB detection centres and in-patient facilities open in and around Colombo, and reporting of TB deaths becomes compulsory
• 1940s: Welisara Hospital becomes a TB hospital after wartime military use. The Anti-TB Campaign begins, pulmonary TB becomes notifiable and BCG vaccination is introduced
• 1950s: Specialist TB wards, a laboratory and a nursing school are set up, and national notification law is passed
• 1960–1972: TB control is integrated into public health services across the island
• 1989–2001: The programme becomes the Respiratory Disease Control Programme, adopts the DOTS strategy in 1995, and takes its present name in 2001
• 2005–2012: Standard treatment with free drugs is introduced, services expand to former conflict-affected areas, new DOT centres and chest clinics open, a patient information system reaches every district and culture laboratories are strengthened

Section 4 of 6

National TB policy

• Every TB patient is notified
• Treatment is free of charge and follows national guidelines
• Every TB patient is registered at a district chest clinic
• Sputum microscopy is free
• Directly observed treatment (DOTS) is given for the full course of treatment

Section 5 of 6

Our objectives

• Make diagnosis, treatment, cure and rehabilitation available to every person with TB or a respiratory disease
• Stop the spread of TB in the community
• Prevent drug-resistant TB
• Reduce the social and economic burden of TB and other respiratory diseases

Section 6 of 6

End TB targets

• A 95% reduction in deaths from TB
• A 90% reduction in new TB cases, to fewer than 10 per 100,000 people
• No family facing catastrophic costs because of TB