The Union attended the annual WHO Executive Board meeting - taking place this week - to present a number of interventions pushing for the political leadership and momentum needed to end TB.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), highlighted tuberculosis (TB) as a priority in his opening address to the annual WHO Executive Board meeting - taking place this week.
The Union attended the meeting as an observer to present a number of interventions pushing for the political leadership and momentum needed to end TB. These were submitted within the context of 2018 being the year of the first ever High Level Meeting (HLM) on TB - only the fifth time that the United Nations has called for a HLM on a single health issue.
The Union highlighted (PDF 96 KB) the very real danger of not meeting the 2020 rate of decline of TB required by the WHO End TB strategy, and the urgent need for greater political and financial commitment to urgently address this.
In particular, The Union highlighted the desperate need for new vaccines, diagnostics and treatments, (PDF 95 KB) which can only be achieved with financial commitment yet investment in TB R&D receives only one-third of the nearly $2 billion in annual funding called for by the partner organisations of the Stop TB Partnership.
During the meeting The Union informed the WHO and member states about The Life Prize’s plan to develop a new and innovative financing mechanism for R&D into new TB drugs and regimens.
Additionally The Union asked the WHO and member states to consider the unique needs of TB among infants, children and adolescents (PDF 77 KB) and ensure their prominence in the HLM programme, political declaration and accountability framework.
Read The Union’s interventions in full
Union Intervention on HLM (PDF 96 KB)
Union Intervention on shortage to medicines(PDF 95 KB)
Union Intervention on maternal child and adolescent health (PDF 77 KB)