DILI, 24 march 2024 (TATOLI) – It was today, in 1882, that Dr Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB). Thus, on the day which opened the way towards diagnosing and curing this disease, we commemorate World Tuberculosis Day.
The impact of TB on our South-East Asia Region is significant.
As of 2022, our Region accounts for more than 45% of the annual global TB incidence, and more than half of global TB deaths. Out of the 4.8 million new TB patients in our Region in 2022, more than a million were attributable to undernutrition. Approximately 42% of all TB affected families faced catastrophic costs.
On World TB Day 2024, we remind ourselves that getting back-on-track to turn the tide against the TB epidemic is possible through high level leadership, increased investments and faster uptake of new WHO recommendations.
Our Region has demonstrated strong political commitment towards ending TB, as could be seen in 2023, during the Ministerial Meeting in India, which led to the Gandhinagar Declaration. The Declaration affirmed commitment towards ending TB through establishment of multisectoral platforms, high quality equity based and stigma free access to TB services, and mobilization of necessary domestic and international resources.
The second UN High-Level Meeting on TB, in September 2023, brought together Heads of State and Ministers from across the world to galvanize political and social commitment to end TB, under the umbrella of universal health care.
At the meeting, Member States committed to:
- reach at least 90% of people in need with TB treatment and TB preventive treatment by 2027;
- provide a health and social benefits package to all people diagnosed with TB by 2027;
- initiate the rollout of a new TB vaccine that is safe and effective, preferably within the next five years.
WHO regional and country offices are committed to support all Member States in reaching these coverage targets.
On World TB Day, I call upon all partners, donors and our community colleagues to deploy a comprehensive approach that incorporates biomedical approaches with addressing the socioeconomic aspects of the disease.
To achieve these goals, our Region has several priorities.
First is to establish multisectoral platforms that report to the highest political level for monitoring and supporting TB programmes through a primary health care approach. Such platforms can be contextualised to individual country needs, and could address not just TB but also other priority diseases through integrated approaches.
Second, we have to improve access to new technologies, tools and drugs with shorter treatment regimes, and that are patient-friendly. Each and every person with presumptive TB should have access to the molecular tests recommended by WHO for rapidly detecting TB and drug resistance. WHO-approved shorter treatment regimen for drug-resistant TB have shown encouraging results in countries where they are implemented. It is time to improve access to these regimens. Similarly, preventive treatment must be administered to all eligible individuals.
Third, we have to provide social protection. Recent evidence clearly demonstrates the role of nutrition support in reducing TB incidence and deaths among the undernourished. A multisectoral approach to provide supplements will have multidimensional benefits for patients, their families, and for all of society. The support will not just address TB but also other diseases where undernutrition is a common determinant.
Finally, we should end all forms of stigma and discrimination, particularly against women, the marginalized, and other key population groups. Communities should be at the centre of our decision-making process and fully engaged for a meaningful response to social issues. Communities can be a channel as well as a safeguard of our interventions to ensure they reach the last mile. The theme of this World TB Day is “Yes! We can End TB”. Let us all do it together for ourselves, and for coming generations, to be able to live in a TB-free world.
TATOLI
