RAKUS Ukrainian doctors learn the treatment and care of tuberculosis patients

The purpose of the visit and training is also to identify and initiate the transition from traditional inpatient treatment to an outpatient treatment approach. The doctors came from the Kharkiv region, which often suffers from Russian attacks, so inpatient treatment in this area is not always available in wartime conditions, and doctors have to look for non-standard and creative solutions for the outpatient treatment of tuberculosis, which, like any infectious disease, has a higher risk of spreading in wartime conditions .

Līga Kukša, head of the department of tuberculosis and lung diseases, head of the cooperation center of the World Health Organization (WHO), states that the doctors will get to know the most effective methods and best practices in combating tuberculosis and will further apply the acquired knowledge in their daily work, organizing health care processes for tuberculosis patients in the Kharkiv region.

Ukrainian doctors Tetyana Sinenko, Svitlana Sumets, Svitalana Tiahlo and Yulia Tymoshenko are determined to share the knowledge and experience gained in Latvia in order to improve the treatment and care of tuberculosis patients in their region and country.

Tuberculosis as a public health problem has not lost its relevance – the global situation, events in the world and socio-economic conditions still make it necessary to identify the epidemiological threat of tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is still one of the deadliest infectious diseases. Every day, an average of 4,400 people in the world lose their lives due to tuberculosis, and approximately 30,000 people contract this preventable and treatable disease, hospital representatives inform.

The Covid-19 pandemic, war and conflicts in the world, as well as socio-economic inequality are said to be important factors that have affected the progress achieved over the years in the fight to eradicate tuberculosis and created an even greater burden for people affected by the disease, especially in the most vulnerable groups of society.