Health systems and tuberculosis - a comparison between Iraq and Romania

ABSTRACT

Tuberculosis continues to be one of the important public health challenges of this century. After 6 years of STOP TB Strategy, countries like Iraq and Romania, still struggle to decrease the impact of this disease. This paper looks at the TB epidemic in the context of the health systems in the two countries. The findings show that Iraq ranks third in the Eastern Mediterranean Region regarding incidence, prevalence and death rates, ranks second in treatment success rate, but has one of the lowest case detection rate; Romania ranks first in the European Region regarding incidence and prevalence, second regarding mortality rates and treatment success rates and has the lowest case detection rate in its region. There is a need for specific interventions to control TB in both countries, more so as funding seems to be available