REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Thousands of people flocked to the National Monument (Monas) Square in Central Jakarta. No, they were not staging a protest on fuel price increase, but enjoying a fun-bike and walk program held by the Ministry of Health to observe the World Tuberculosis Day on Sunday.

Clad in white T-shirts, the participants who came from different circles packed the Monas areas and were seen enthusiastic with taking part in the programs held since morning. "We organize this event to increase people`s awareness of the danger of  tuberculosis (TB)," Tjandra Yoga Aditama, director general for disease control, said after attending the programs.

He said that Indonesia had achieved a significant result in its efforts to control the TB disease in the last ten years. In 2010, Indonesia is able to lower its TB incidence by 45 percent from that in 1990.The number of TB sufferers in 1990 is 343 per 100,000 people whih dropped to 189 suffers per 100,000 persons of the population. 

"Besides, during the period Indonesia was also able to lower the prevalence of  TB by 35 percent where the prevalence of TB in 1990 was 443 per 100,000 persons but it dropped to 289 per 100,000 people in 2010," the director general said.

The death caused by TB is dropped by 71 percent from 92 cases per 100,000 people in 1990 to 27 cases per 100,000 in 2010. "The ministry of health always provided education through various campaigns," Aditama said.

The World TB Day carried the theme: "Let`s Unite to Stop TB," which in Indonesia is modified into: "United towards TB-free Indonesia". Data at the WHO in 2011 indicated that Indonesia is ranked ninth in the list of 27 countries which had high burdens on multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis.

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