Dar es Salaam — At least 70 people die every day from Tuberculosis (TB) in Tanzania, according to the Health Minister Ms Ummy Mwalimu. The number is an average of three people per hour.

Visiting a Dar es Salaam-based hospital on Saturday, March 23, 2019 as part of this year's World TB Day (WTBD) commemoration Ms Mwalimu further pointed out that Tanzania was among the 30 countries in the World reportedly to have the highest TB prevalence.

"The World Health Organization (WHO) statistics indicate that at least 154, 000 Tanzanians get infected with the disease every year," said Ms Mwalimu.

Furthermore, Ms Mwalimu revealed that the government in 2018 had managed to reach and treat at least 75,845 TB patients compared to 62,180 reached in the previous year, surpassing the target imposed by the African Union Commission that requires Member States to reach and treat 74,200 TB patients per year.

"TB patient who is not under medication can infect at least 10 to 20 people per year. Therefore, more efforts are required to reach and treat more TB patients in order to prevent further transmission of the disease in the country," said Ms Mwalimu.