World Vision's country mananger for Papua New Guinea says alarming statistics on the prevalence of tuberculosis means the disease can now be managed better.
A recent report says one Papua New Guinean dies from tuberculosis every two hours, with 16,000 new cases being detected every year.
But World Vision's Curt Von Boguslawski says the figures are a sign that the partnership with the National Department of Health, Ausaid and the Global fund is responding to this public health problem.
He says a lower rate would more likely indicate there are TB infections present that are not being detected.
"What is important to recogise is that the government for the first time now really has a very good overview of the case load in the country. Some people interpret the figures wrong. If you have a rise of TB cases in a particular country its actually good news, because you are starting to detect them. Once you've got TB detected you can also actually treat it and cure it."
