Highlights of the End TB 2019: 23rd Annual Conference of The Union North America Region, which will take place in Vancouver, Canada, from 21-23 February 2019.
Dr Eric Goosby and Dr Patricia Daly are confirmed as keynote speakers at the End TB 2019: 23rd Annual Conference of The Union North America Region, which will take place in Vancouver, Canada, from 21-23 February 2019.
In 2017, 10 million people fell ill with tuberculosis (TB) and 1.6 million died from the disease. TB, a preventable and curable disease, now kills more people than HIV/AIDS and is the world’s largest infectious disease killer. The scale of the TB global health emergency was acknowledged by the United Nations (UN) last year at the inaugural High-Level Meeting on TB in New York, culminating in a Political Declaration signed by world leaders committed to ending TB by 2030.
During his speech at the closing ceremony of the 49th Union World Conference on Lung Health in The Hague, Dr Eric Goosby, UN Special Envoy on Tuberculosis, discussed the global commitments within the political declaration stating the commitments made must lead to action at national and local levels, he said “We must remember that TB is preventable, treatable and curable. Now let’s make it doable.”
In his keynote speech at the 23rd Annual Conference of The Union North America Region, Dr Eric Goosby will address this urgent and timely topic, discussing the next steps following the High-Level Meeting.
Dr Patricia Daly, Chief Medical Health Officer and Vice President for Public Health for Vancouver Coastal Health, will open the afternoon session on Friday 22nd February with a Beyond TB lecture discussing opioid use and TB.
The conference will bring together a diverse group of TB advocates, survivors, scientists, clinicians, and programme managers to hear about the latest on TB diagnostics, drugs, treatment, prevention and clinical trials, latent TB infection (LTBI) treatment for special populations and approaches to effective community engagement.
The 23rd Annual Conference of The Union North America Region is organised by Union member organisation, British Columbia Lung Association. Members are affiliated by region, and come together to discuss regional takes on global health issues including TB, lung health and related topics. The three-day scientific conference will bring together regional and internationally known experts to focus on topics of importance to public health.
Sessions will cover:
- State-of-the art science on TB prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and management of LTBI and TB disease, including in special populations.
- Facilitators and barriers to effective community engagement in TB care and prevention
- Clinical trials of new TB drugs and regimens