After last month’s World Health Assembly adopted a new global strategy and targets for global tuberculosis prevention, care and control, the directors of national TB and HIV/AIDS programmes across Latin America convened in Mexico City at a summit organised by the regional offices of the Pan American Health Association (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Their objectives at the meeting were to analyse their countries’ performance in controlling TB and to identify challenges, then use that information to inform priorities for implementing the new global TB strategy. Priorities identified included strengthening laboratory networks, implementing new diagnostics, strengthening information systems, monitoring resistance to anti-TB drugs and improving the clinical and programmatic management of multidrug-resistant TB, TB-HIV and other diseases that commonly affect people with TB.
TB and HIV/AIDS leaders also assessed their progress in implementing TB-HIV collaborative activities in the countries of the Americas, gave updates on the status of TB-HIV co-infection in their countries and discussed available options for integrating TB and HIV services.
The Union was represented on the meeting’s host committee by Dr Jesús Felipe Gonsález Roldán, who represents the Latin America Region on The Union’s Board of Directors. Dr Ronulfo Vega, President of the Executive Committee of The Union Latin America Region, presented during the opening sessions of both the TB and the HIV sections of the meeting.
The summit met from 26 to 30 May. Approximately 100 public health leaders from 27 countries across Latin America participated, including from Argentina, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Santa Lucia, Surinam, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela.