Representatives from 17 countries gathered in Panama City on 7 and 8 July 2011 for the VII Meeting of TB/HIV in the Americas. Participants included national TB and HIV control programmes; representatives from affected communities and civil society; scientific societies; the prison sector; financial and technical partners; TB, HIV and TB/HIV experts; and international organisations. The Union was represented by Edith Alarcón of The Union Peru Office in Lima.
The objective of the meeting was to share global and regional experiences, such as best practices that would permit the strengthening of political advocacy, resource mobilisation, the expansion of collaborative TB/HIV activities and the integration of TB and HIV services in the Americas.
The sessions addressed five different topics: TB/HIV context; reducing the burden of TB in persons with HIV; the Three "I"s; sharing experiences between countries, partners and civil society; TB/HIV in special populations; and identifying key actions in order to expand TB/HIV collaboration.
Key data were provided to illustrate the current status of TB/HIV in the Americas. For example:
It was reported that in 2009, HIV testing was performed in 43% of persons with TB, of which 17% were confirmed to be coinfected.
In 2008, only 4% of persons living with HIV had been examined to rule out TB and 1.8% received isoniazid preventive therapy.
This important meeting served as a good opportunity to discuss the advances in collaborative TB/HIV activities. It also highlighted the importance of joint actions designed to reduce gaps in the timely diagnosis of HIV in those with TB and of TB in persons living with HIV.
Keeping in mind the importance of strengthening joint TB/HIV activities, The Union is participating in training, supervision and monitoring activities in the region to help strengthen implementation of collaborative TB/HIV activities. The objective is to achieve the key indicators of the Global Plan to Stop TB in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.
The meeting was organised by the World Health Organization/Pan-American Health Organization.