In fighting against TB, what do you and your organization do?
My name is Dr. Thi Thi Kyaw. I am the Public Health Officer under the UNOPS Asia Regional Health Cluster (ARHC) which manages the Principal Recipient Programme of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Asia including Myanmar. My main focus is managing TB program and responsible for overseeing the Global Fund TB grant from a management and coordination perspective. Currently, we are working with the National TB Program and nine partners for TB control activities in Myanmar.
Tell us what it is like working for the TB-related program.
It’s been a decade that I have been working in the public health sector, particularly for TB. Personally speaking, TB is an interesting disease for me. People have been fighting it for many years and yet it is still the number one infectious killer worldwide. Our country is still in the list of high TB burden countries and each year nearly 140,000 new TB cases are found and treated. As a Public Health Officer, I want to be involved in every aspect of TB control activities. I believe that this is the area which needs all our efforts and expertise to be invested in.
What motivates you to keep going?
If we imagine a program as a vehicle, we need a good driver and every part of the vehicle needs to work properly and harmoniously to reach our destination. Similarly, a disease control program needs a strong leadership, commitment and participation of different stakeholders. We have to do a lot of coordination and collaboration with stakeholders. We all are on the way to reach the ultimate goal of “End TB” in Myanmar.
As a Principal Recipient of Global Fund, one of our main responsibilities includes effective and efficient utilization of the fund for the people in Myanmar. There are many activities implemented by different partners across the country for the people in need. Therefore, for us, every day comes with different challenges. That is the nature of my work and even these challenges motivate me to work hard.
What is your message regarding the World TB Day 2020?
Each year we commemorate World TB Day on March 24 to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic impact of tuberculosis (TB) and urge acceleration of efforts to end the global TB epidemic. I would like to call for “authorities, affected communities, civil society organizations, health care providers, national/international partners” to unite forces, to fight TB and ensure no one is left behind.
Where would you like to see Myanmar in the fight against TB?
I would like to see Myanmar free from TB. Our ultimate goal is to “End TB” here. Together, we are doing our best. The recent TB surveys showed that the number of new TB cases in Myanmar are decreasing each year. It is not just a dream to end TB, we can achieve it with strong leadership and collective efforts.
