Kaiser Weekly TB/Malaria Report

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Global Health Events

Thursday, March 13, 2008

The World Economic Forum's Global Health Initiative on Wednesday in London released a report that highlights the threat tuberculosis poses to businesses worldwide and makes recommendations on how to address the disease in workplaces, The Hindu reports (Suroor, The Hindu, 3/13).

The report, titled "Tackling Tuberculosis: The Business Response," was based on an analysis of responses to TB questions in WEF's annual executive opinion survey. Almost one-third of survey respondents said that they expect TB to affect their businesses during the next five years, with one in 10 respondents anticipating the effects to be serious (GHI release, 3/12).

Businesses in developing countries are subject to the most severe effects of TB, according to the report (The Hindu, 3/13). Firms in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe are most concerned about TB's impact, the report found. In addition, concerns about TB have increased substantially in some large countries, including Brazil, India, Korea, South Africa and Turkey (GHI release, 3/12). According to the report, multi-drug resistant TB has emerged as a "significant threat" in workplaces, especially in the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and China. The report found that one-fifth of all new TB cases worldwide occur in India and that the direct economic cost of TB in the country is more than $3 billion. In addition, India loses 100 million productive workdays because of the disease (The Hindu, 3/13). More than 80% of respondents in sub-Saharan Africa predict that TB will affect their businesses in the near future.

Although workplaces are environments where TB can spread easily, they also are ideal places for education campaigns, the report found. There are a variety of reasons for businesses to control the disease, including increased productivity and enhanced corporate relationships. The report says that many companies have signed up to participate in programs, such as the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the Stop TB Partnership and WEF. The report also found that despite the increased involvement of some businesses in these programs, the momentum is not yet comparable with the actions businesses have taken to address HIV/AIDS.

The report was prepared by David Bloom of the Harvard School of Public Health. It includes input from GHI's nonexecutive board and the Stop TB Partnership (GHI release, 3/12). It was released ahead of World TB Day on March 24 (The Hindu, 3/13).

The report is available online.

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