World leaders at the United Nations have approved an ambitious plan to combat tuberculosis over the next five years.
ADVERTISEMENTWorld leaders at the United Nations have approved an ambitious plan to combat tuberculosis over the next five years.
The targets include reaching 90 per cent of people with TB prevention and care services, providing social benefit packages to all people with TB, licensing at least one new vaccine, and closing funding gaps for implementation and research by 2027.
In the lead-up to this historic meeting, WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, officially launched the TB vaccine accelerator council to facilitate the development, licensing and use of new TB vaccines.
Opening the meeting, the President of the General Assembly, Dennis Francis, said, “The political declaration just approved today reflects the importance of a whole of society, whole of Government approach - and makes evidence-based recommendations to end TB by 2030.”
Francis continued, “But time is running out. I rely on you to inspire political commitments driven by science, equity and inclusion. I encourage you to use today’s platform to send a clear and united message. Together - up at the top - we can end TB.”
The UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J. Mohammed, recalled a private moment, saying, “My commitment is my personal story.”
“Losing my father to TB at 50, 37 years ago this week, today we have the tools to diagnose TB, and what we need right now is the vaccine. Let's end TB now. It is possible,” said the Deputy Secretary-General.
Also in the meeting, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, noted that, in 2021, TB killed more than one million people and struck millions more.”
Ghebreyesus concluded, “In the time it takes me to make these remarks, 10 people will die with tuberculosis somewhere in the world. Most are poor, marginalized, or malnourished. And the out-of-pocket costs associated with treating TB expose them to financial hardship or drive them further into poverty. TB is the definitive disease of deprivation.”
The meeting happened under the theme “Advancing science, finance and innovation, and their benefits, to urgently end the global tuberculosis epidemic, in particular, by ensuring equitable access to prevention, testing, treatment and care.”
The main objective is to implement a comprehensive review of progress in the context of the achievement of targets set in the 2018 political declaration and in the Sustainable Development Goals.