Mr Michael Kobla Adzahoo, Adaklu-Anyigbe District Chief Executive (DCE), has condemned the aloofness of the public to health education programmes. He said members of the public; especially the rural populace derides such programmes organized by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and similar institutions which they described as distractions planned by some contented public servants. Mr Adzahoo said this at the launch of the World TB Day and the Year of the Lung at Ziope in the Adaklu-Anyigbe District of the Volta Region on Thursday. It has the theme; "On the Move against Tuberculosis" with the slogan; "Innovate to Accelerate Action." Mr Adzahoo said such attitudes had resulted in many people being ignorant about the simple things to do or not to do to prevent diseases such as TB. He condemned alcoholism, saying it only prepared the body for easy attack of TB and other infections of the lung. Patience Nunoo, Acting Adaklu-Anyigbe District Director of Health, said the Day was important because "despite the commitment and numerous actions adopted to fight the disease, TB still remains a global public health problem". She said the International Day of the Lung was also to highlight acute and chronic diseases such as pneumonia and other obstructive lung diseases. Ms Nunoo said the district detected 12 cases last year but recorded a 100 percent cure rate during the same period. Dr Timothy Letsa, Acting Regional Director of GHS, said 1,579 cases of TB were recorded in the region last year, with a 42 percent detection rate and 92 percent cure rate. He said the objective of the awareness campaign "is to join forces to fight against the tuberculosis disease". Mr Joseph Degley, Volta Regional TB Coordinator, told the Ghana News Agency that the highest detection rate of 514 cases were recorded in the Ketu-South District, the lowest being Krachi-East District with six cases. He explained that the detection rate was not a reflection of the prevalent rate of the disease in the area. Mr Winnard Klu, a TB control Officer at the Ho Municipal Hospital was given a 29 inch television set in recognition of the passion with which he approached his work. Source: GNA