World Tuberculosis Day 2019 – It’s time ! ”Find Treat All #EndTB” – It’s time for action! It’s time to End TB.
Each year we commemorate World TB Day on March 24 to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic impact of tuberculosis (TB) and urge acceleration of efforts to end the global TB epidemic.
This year, we commemorate the 137th anniversary of Dr. Robert Koch’s announcement in 1882 of his discovery of the TB bacillus, the cause of TB. His groundbreaking research opened the way toward diagnosing and curing this disease.
TB remains the world’s deadliest infectious killer. Each day, nearly 4500 people lose their lives to TB and close to 30,000 people fall ill with this preventable and curable disease. Global efforts to combat TB have saved an estimated 54 million lives since the year 2000 and reduced the TB mortality rate by 42%. To accelerate the TB response in countries to reach targets – Heads of State came together and made strong commitments to end TB at the first-ever UN High Level Meeting in September 2018.
The theme of World TB Day 2019 – ‘It’s time’ – puts the accent on the urgency to act on the commitments made by global leaders to:
- scale up access to prevention and treatment;
- build accountability;
- ensure sufficient and sustainable financing including for research;
- promote an end to stigma and discrimination, and
- promote an equitable, rights-based and people-centered TB response.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a joint initiative “Find. Treat. All. #EndTB” with the Global Fund and Stop TB Partnership, with the aim of accelerating the TB response and ensuring access to care, in line with WHO’s overall drive towards Universal Health Coverage.
This World TB Day, WHO calls on governments, affected communities, civil society organizations, health-care providers, and national/international partners to unite forces under the banner “Find. Treat. All. #EndTB” to ensure no one is left behind.
It’s time for action! It’s time to End TB.
Global Tuberculosis Report 2018 overview
- 54 million lives saved between 2000 and 2017 TB deaths fell by 33% in the same period.
- TB is the top infectious killer worldwide TB is also the leading cause of deaths among people with HIV & a major cause of antimicrobial resistance related deaths.
- MDR-TB crisis with gaps in detection and treatment Only 1 in 4 needing MDR-TB treatment were enrolled on it
- Funding shortfall for TB implementation Gap of over US$ 1.3 billion per year for TB research
#ItsTimetoEndTB @StopTB #WorldTBDay2019
