Millions of children robbed of mothers (From Bournemouth Echo)

Millions of children robbed of mothers

7:00am Tuesday 24th March 2009 in

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Your sensitive article Mum’s the word, (Daily Echo, March 21) considers children who can no longer call “mummy”.

My grandfather lost his mother to TB before he’d even learned to say “mummy.” This was early last century when TB was the cause of one in six deaths in Europe. Fortunately in the UK we do not hear of deaths due to TB – we have a good health care system that diagnoses, treats and cures the disease.

Today is World TB day. Globally, 1.6 million people a year still die from TB, but the drugs to treat and cure it cost only $10.

What is more worrying is that poorly treated TB can become drug-resistant, and therefore more complicated and more expensive to treat.

TB is a global problem that is caught by breathing, so in this time of recession, we need to prioritise TB spending in order to avoid creating a bigger problem, and many more children who can’t call “mummy”.

Emily Bullock, May Gardens, Bournemouth