Cambodia sees significant drop in TB deaths and new cases in last two decades, says PM

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua): Cambodia has seen a remarkable decline in Tuberculosis (TB) deaths and new cases in more than two decades, Prime Minister Hun Manet said on Sunday.

In a message on the World TB Day under the theme of "Yes! We can end TB," Hun Manet said the mortality rate from TB had dropped by 45 percent from 42 cases per 100,000 people in 2000 to 23 in 2022.

He added that new TB cases had also fallen by 45 percent from 579 per 100,000 people in 2000 to 320 in 2022.

"These achievements have allowed Cambodia to achieve the Millennium Development Goals related to the reduction of morbidity and mortality from TB four years ahead of the target," he said. "This is something that only a few countries in the world can achieve."

Hun Manet said TB treatment is free-of-charge, with a high cure rate of more than 90 per cent.

According to the World Health Organization in Cambodia, for decades, the South-East Asian country has made solid progress in TB control, saying that since 2000, about half a million people have been cured of TB and an estimated 400,000 lives have been saved. - Xinhua