World Tuberculosis Day 2021, March 21

                                       

FORUM: "The clock is ticking"; World Tuberculosis Day 2021

The theme "The clock is ticking" conveys the sense that the world is running out of time to act on the commitments to end TB made by global leaders.

World Health Organization (WHO).

A World TB Day campaign for action! On World TB Day, WHO calls on everyone to keep the promise to:

° Accelerate the End TB Response to reach the targets set in Sustainable Development Goals, WHO End TB Strategy, the Moscow Declaration to End TB and the political declaration of the UN High-Level Meeting on TB.
° Diagnose and treat 40 million people with TB by 2022 including 3.5 million children and 1.5 million people with drug-resistant TB. This is in line with WHO’s overall drive towards Universal Health Coverage and the WHO Director General’s flagship initiative “Find. Treat. All. End TB” jointly with the Global Fund and Stop TB Partnership.
° Reach 30 million people with TB preventive treatment by 2022 so that those people most at risk receive TB preventive treatment, including 24 million household contacts of TB patients - 4 million of whom are children under 5 - and 6 million people living with HIV.
° Mobilize sufficient and sustainable financing to reach USD 13 billion a year to support efforts to end TB; for every USD 1 invested to end TB, USD 43 is returned as the benefits of a healthy functioning society (Economist/ Copenhagen Consensus).
° Invest in TB research to reach at least USD 2 billion a year for better science, better tools and better delivery.

THE CLOCK IS TICKING. IT’S TIME TO KEEP OUR PROMISES. IT’S TIME TO END TB. Join us for an exciting special virtual talk show to commemorate World TB Day on 24 March at 13:00H CET.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is organizing a special virtual talk show to commemorate World TB Day on 24 March. This will put the spotlight on TB in the midst of the ongoing COVID crisis. The theme for the Show and for World TB Day: ‘The Clock is Ticking’ – conveys the sense that the world is running out of time to act on the commitments to end TB made by global leaders. This is especially critical in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that has put End TB progress at risk, and to ensure equitable access to prevention and care in line with WHO’s drive towards achieving Universal Health Coverage.

The event will take place in a talk-show format with speakers connected by video on WHO’s interactive web-platform- End TB Forum. The main speakers will include Ministers, leaders and other high-level government representatives, Heads of Agencies, TB survivors, civil society and partners. The Show will be broadcast live, with interactive Q&A from the audience online.

World Tuberculosis Day 2015, March 24

 World Tuberculosis Day,  Mars 24.

 Día Mundial de la Tuberculosis, 24 de marzo.

 Journée mondiale de lutte contre la tuberculose, 24 mars.  

 世界防治结核病日, 3月24日.

Всемирный день борьбы с туберкулезом, 24 марта .

اليوم العالمي للسل، 24 مارس

Theme 2015 : Gear up to end TB.

Thema 2015 : Cambiemos de marcha para acabar con la tuberculosis.

Thème 2015 : Contre la tuberculose, passons à la vitesse supérieure.

 2015年主題 : 促进消除结核病.

тема 2015 : Наращивать темпы для ликвидации туберкулеза.

اليوم العالمي للسل 2015 - الجزيرة

 As countries mark World Tuberculosis Day on March 24, WHO is calling for “global solidarity and action” to support a new 20-year strategy, which aims to end the global tuberculosis epidemic.
Recent years have seen tremendous progress in the fight against TB, with over 37 million lives saved, but much more needs to be done. In 2013, 9 million people fell ill with TB, almost half a million of whom have a multi-drug resistant disease which is far harder to treat. An estimated 1.5 million people still die of tuberculosis each year.
The disease frequently has devastating economic consequences for affected families, reducing their annual income by an average of 50%, and aggravating existing inequalities.
“This is a matter of social justice, fundamental to our goal of universal health coverage. Each and every man, woman or child with TB should have equal, unhindered access to the innovative tools and services they need for rapid diagnosis, treatment and care,” says Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General.

New strategy sets ambitious targets

WHO’s End TB Strategy, adopted by governments at the World Health Assembly last year, is designed to drive action in three key areas: integrated patient-centred TB care and prevention for all in need, including children; bold policies and supportive systems; and intensified research and innovation.
The strategy sets ambitious targets of a 95% reduction in TB deaths and a 90% reduction in cases of TB by 2035. An important milestone to be reached within the next five years (2020) is the elimination of catastrophic costs for TB patients and their families. Eliminating catastrophic costs is feasible through making care more accessible and through financial protection schemes to minimize medical and non-medical costs as well as income loss.

 2015 is seen as a critical year for action to adapt and roll out the strategy in diverse country settings. Achieving success for the strategy will require the TB community around the world to work together to leverage alliances and resources.
“The progress that has been made in combating TB has been hard won and must be intensified if we are to wipe out the TB epidemic,” says Dr Eric Goosby, who was appointed UN Special Envoy on TB in January this year. “The End TB Strategy offers new hope to the millions of people suffering and losing their lives to TB each year. It is time to join forces to create a world free of TB.”
The strategy addresses tuberculosis among vulnerable groups, including people living with HIV who develop TB. In 2013 there were an estimated 1.1 million people co-infected with HIV and TB, 360 000 of whom died.

Mobilization needed to fund gaps and end TB

Persistent funding gaps in the TB response also need to be filled to drive progress towards ending the global epidemic. It is vital that resource gaps of USD 2 billion per year for TB interventions and USD 1.39 billion per year for TB research be filled. Accelerating research and innovation in basic science, new diagnostics, drugs and vaccines and their rapid uptake, will be critical to break the trajectory of the epidemic and reach the global targets.

“This World TB Day should serve to alert and mobilize as many people as possible to end the epidemic,” says Dr Mario Raviglione, Director of the WHO Global TB Programme. “We must work with innovators in health, development, civil society and the private sector to end the burden of this preventable disease.”
Gearing up to adapt and implement the End TB strategy has already begun. A new action framework targeting the elimination of TB for low-incidence countries was launched last year. Regions are working on plans to support countries, and ministries of health are updating their national plans in line with the strategy and its milestones.

Notes for Editors

• An overview of the End TB Strategy will be published in the Lancet on World TB Day and addresses some of the key challenges in moving the strategy forward.
• An article on the action framework towards tuberculosis elimination for low-incidence countries will be published today by the European Respiratory Society (ERS) and WHO.

Forum : World Tuberculosis Day - March 24
" This is a matter of social justice, fundamental to our goal of universal health coverage.”
 Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General

 World TB Day, 24 March, is an opportunity to raise awareness about the burden of tuberculosis (TB) worldwide and the status of TB prevention and control efforts. WHO’s End TB Strategy envisions a world free of TB with zero deaths, disease and suffering. It sets targets and outlines actions for governments and partners to provide patient-centred care, pursue policies and systems that enable prevention and care, and drive research and innovations needed to end the epidemic and eliminate TB. On World TB Day 2015, WHO calls on governments, affected communities, civil society organizations, health-care providers, and international partners to join the drive to roll out this strategy and to reach, treat and cure all those who are ill today.

Related links

• Global strategy and targets for TB prevention, care and control after 2015
• WHO's work on TB
• Fact sheet on TB
• Advocacy brochure: Introducing the WHO End TB Strategy
•  Towards tuberculosis elimination: an action framework for low-incidence countries

TB is a leading killer of children, its impact rippling through families, communities, and entire countries. While the disease is curable, appropriate treatments designed for children do not currently exist. TB Alliance, the World Health Organization, and other partners are working to change this. Tuberculosis Alliance