A Local Effort

One of the most successful organizations in Singapore in the fight against TB is the Singapore Anti Tuberculosis Association (SATA). SATA was established in 1947 to fight Tuberculosis (TB). SATA was registered on August 23rd, 1947 . A group of doctors and men from the business community, local and expatriate, were the founder members. The idea of setting up SATA had originated during the Japanese Occupation when TB was the number one killer disease among a group of Singaporeans interned in Changi jail. These men wanted to do something for society when they were free

Up to 1950, 30,000 people had been x-rayed and more than 10% were found to have active TB. Inoculation of the young was introduced and the BCG vaccination programme got into gear on 26 May 1949 . In 1952, SATA built the much-needed clinic in Shenton Way . The Royal Singapore Tuberculosis Clinic was built at a cost of S$1 million at that time. The much needed clinic saw attendance rise from 118,411 in 1951 to 132,124 in 1952. X-ray cases rose from 41,000 to 51,000 while consultations rose from 9,112 to 13,303

In 1953, the Tuberculosis Insurance Scheme was introduced by SATA's first Asian Chairman, Mr G H Kiat. In 1955, the SATA Mobile Treatment Service was introduced. Its purpose was to treat those who could not afford a trip to town. In 1959, under the Chairmanship of Mr Wee Kim Wee who is the current Patron, SATA embarked on an "attack" rather than "defence" strategy. A mass x-ray campaign was carried out which revealed that 1 in 27 people was likely to have TB A mass x-ray campaign was carried out which revealed that 1 in 27 people was likely to have TB.

SATA has even played a role in rehabilitating many of the TB sufferers in the 1940s to 1960s. In those days, contracting TB was like a slow death sentence. More significantly as TB is a contagious disease, many of these TB sufferers were shunned by society and it was a social stigma. As a result, they had to be rehabilitated in places such as resorts. These TB sufferers typically earn a living doing some work like carpentry, chicken rearing, sewing and other jobs

By 1972, the number of cases of TB in Singapore had declined rapidly and in the following years, TB was largely a forgotten disease in Singapore . However, following the resurgence of TB in the past decade, SATA has again played a key role in combating TB in Singapore . TB rates in Singapore have been very high relative to its level of development. The fact that the community treats the disease with disregard and becoming complacent is a major concern for SATA. SATA has therefore launched many initiatives including collaborating with educational institutions to promote awareness of the resurgence of TB. SATA has been a keen adopter of the DOTS strategy for combating TB. It is this collaboration with SATA that this website came about.