Slovakia hosts study tour for Ukrainian TB experts

The WHO Country Office in Slovakia organized a training site visit for four experts from Ukraine from 27 January to 2 February 2013 in cooperation with the National Institute of Tuberculosis, Lung Diseases and Thoracic Surgery Vyšne Hágy, Slovakia. The visiting experts represented the Foundation for Development of Ukraine, a non-profit organization that aims to achieve control of tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis is a very serious disease in Ukraine,  with an annual incidence of 101 cases per 100 000 population.

The Ukrainian visitors learned about the Slovak health system and its structures related to the management of tuberculosis. They visited all major health care providers in Slovakia that deal with diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of tuberculosis in the initial phase of treatment and in the long term.

They met with representatives of universities and training centres for specialized health workers, e.g. Ružomberok University, the Slovak Health University in Bratislava, Specialized St. Svorad Hospital in Nitra, the Children Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases and the National Institute of Tuberculosis, Lung Diseases and Thoracic Surgery in Vyšne Hágy. They also had a chance to see the work of out-patient units in the most exposed regions of the east and south of Slovakia.

The WHO Country Office in Slovakia has a long tradition of organizing such study tours. Apart from several groups of specialists from Ukraine, the Office has co-organized visits from Belarus and the Republic of Moldova.