On the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) announces the expanded scope of the initiative of the Director General (DG) of WHO. Flagship Initiative on TB over the period 2023 to 2027 to support accelerated progress towards ending TB and achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030.
Tuberculosis remains one of the world’s leading infectious killers, causing 1.6 million deaths each year and affecting millions more, with enormous impacts on families and communities. The COVID-19 pandemic, along with ongoing crises such as armed conflict, food insecurity, climate change, and political and economic instability, has reversed years of progress in the fight against tuberculosis. Last year, for the first time in almost two decades, the WHO reported an increase in the number of people becoming ill with TB and drug-resistant TB, along with an increase in deaths.
“TB is preventable, treatable and curable, and yet this ancient scourge that has afflicted humanity for millennia continues to cause suffering and death to millions of people each year,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the WHO. “WHO is committed to supporting countries to scale up their response, expanding access to services to prevent, detect and treat TB as part of their path towards universal health coverage, and to strengthen their defenses against epidemics and pandemics. ”.
The WHO Director-General’s flagship initiative on TB builds on progress made and lessons learned from 2018-2022. Its goal is to expand the provision of quality care to people living with TB through equitable access to WHO-recommended rapid diagnoses, shorter oral treatments for infections and diseases, increasing their access to social protection and other innovations. , including digital tools for health.
The initiative highlights the pressing need to increase national and international investment in TB services, research and innovation, particularly in the development of new vaccines. Calls for TB services and programmes, particularly in countries with a high TB burden, to be recognized as an essential component of health systems, strengthening primary health care and pandemic preparedness and response.
The DG’s flagship initiative aims to drive multisectoral action and accountability to address the key drivers of the TB epidemic: poverty, malnutrition, diabetes, HIV, tobacco and alcohol use, poor living and working conditions, among others. And its enhanced outreach is much needed and timely as international partners prepare for the upcoming UN High Level Meeting on TB.
World Tuberculosis Day this year it is commemorated under the motto ‘Yes! We can end tuberculosis!’ with the goal of promoting optimism and fostering high-level leadership, increasing investment, rapid adoption of new WHO recommendations, and strengthening multisectoral partnerships to combat the TB epidemic.
As part of the DG Flagship initiative, a special call to action is published by WHO and its partners urging Member States to accelerate implementation of the new WHO-recommended shorter oral treatment regimens for drug-resistant TB.
Drug-resistant TB continues to be a pressing public health problem, significantly affecting people affected by TB, communities and healthcare systems around the world. In 2021, almost half a million people fell ill with multidrug-resistant or rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/RR-TB), and only one in three accessed treatment.
New WHO guidelines on the treatment of drug-resistant TB recommend rapid implementation of the novel BPaLM/BPaL regimen that has the potential to significantly increase cure rates due to its high effectiveness, offer wider access due to its lower cost and improve the quality of life of patients. quality of life, since it is a totally oral treatment and considerably shorter than traditional regimens.
“2023 is our chance to push the agenda to end TB,” said Dr. Tereza Kasaeva, director of the WHO Global TB Programme. “On World TB Day, WHO is pushing for strong political commitment at the highest level, strong multisectoral collaboration that goes beyond health, and an effective system of accountability. We need everyone – individuals, communities, societies, donors and governments – to do their part to end TB. Together, yes, we can end tuberculosis.”
In September 2023, the United Nations General Assembly will convene three high-level meetings focused on universal health coverage, pandemic preparedness and response, and ending TB. There are clear links between these agendas and Heads of State will deliberate to accelerate action, including on the goal of ending TB.
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