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Registration for the 52nd Union World Conference on Lung Health is now open

• This week marks the 100th anniversary of the Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, yet the fight to end tuberculosis (TB) remains.

  The Union calls on governments and donor agencies to increase investment in TB vaccine research and development (R&D). The US $1.2…

On 18 July 1921, a newborn baby received a dose of an experimental vaccine called Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Fast forward 100 years and it is the most widely used vaccine globally – billions of children have been vaccinated and countless…

• This week, The Union conducted capacity building training for community volunteers in Myanmar to improve their counselling skills by sharing best practices.

  The two-day training course aims to enhance successful re-engagement into the community by people living with…

In this State of the Art, the authors reviewed the literature on thromboembolic adverse events reported after vaccination for COVID-19, and review the benefits and risks of the vaccines approved for use. The preprint is free to read.

On 18th July 2021, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first use of the BCG vaccine for TB. An Editorial in IJTLD discusses BCG’s efficacy, heterologous protection and controversial link with COVID-19. The preprint is free to read.…

An Editorial for IJTLD highlights the importance of TB preventive treatment (TPT) and the launch by WHO, governments, civil society and other partners of a ‘Call to Action’ for broader access to TPT for those in need. The article is free to…

In this Correspondence accepted article for IJTLD, the authors found a 67.4% decrease in testing, a 66.9% decrease in bacteriologically confirmed (bac+) diagnosis and a 58.9% decrease in diagnosis of all forms TB. The preprint is free to read…

In this recently accepted article for IJTLD, the authors found that RR-TB diagnosis decreased by 21–38% following the start of the pandemic. The results are disturbing and suggest that COVID-19 has had a sustained impact at a time when…

• In its fight against lifesaving tobacco control policies—increased taxes, larger pictorial health warnings, and advertising bans—the tobacco industry frequently argues that such measures will cripple the livelihoods of tobacco farming households. This couldn’t be further from…

• Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, and chronic respiratory diseases and their four primary shared risk factors—tobacco, poor diet, physical inactivity, and excessive alcohol—plague the Caribbean, serving as leading causes of…

New, significant and innovative findings in TB, COVID19, Lung Health (Submissions closed; Notifications on acceptance/non acceptance sent)

• After nearly a decade, the commitment and perseverance of tobacco control advocates including The Union will dramatically alter Jakarta’s implementation of smokefree, TAPS bans, and tobacco product bans at point-of-sale locations. On 9 June, the Governor of Jakarta issued a…

• India has the highest burden of TB in the world. Global targets to end TB by 2030 will only be met if India plays its part - successfully treating 11.47 million people with TB, including 1.13 million children and 439,660 people with DR-TB; and initiating 6.9 million people on…

• On 1 June, The Union, in coordination with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Association of all Indonesia Health Offices (ADINKES), and the WHO held a high-level webinar to commemorate World No Tobacco Day and launch the WHO’s “Commit to Quit” campaign…

Inspire, engage and give a voice to the community (Submissions are closed; View Community Connect Schedule here)

Basic and translational TB research
(Submissions are closed; View TBScience Programme here)

This desk guide outlines a comprehensive approach to respiratory health, which health facilities can adapt and implement in resource-limited settings. Its development was supported by a review committee consisting of Union members with…

• The Centre for Operational Research at The Union, working in close collaboration with the National TB Programme and National AIDS Programme in Kenya, Malawi and Zimbabwe as well as the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases at WHO (TDR) and Vital…

• The first edition of Basic occupational safety and health for respiratory diseases: A desk guide for health facilities outlines a comprehensive approach to respiratory health, which health facilities can adapt and implement in resource-limited settings. 

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• While all six of the World Health Organization’s cost-effective, high-impact MPOWER measures are critical to ending the global tobacco burden, the “O” in this acronym—“Offer help to quit tobacco”—has, to date, been under implemented. When the WHO issued its last Report on The…

• Earlier this week, Mr. Navid Ahmed Shaikh, Commissioner Karachi Division, directed his seven deputy commissioners to create district implementation and monitoring committees (DIMCs) and tobacco control cells (TCCs) in each of their respective districts. DIMCs and tobacco…

• The Union congratulates the Kathmandu Institute of Child Health (KIOCH) for rejecting a ‘donation’ of US$ 400,000 and declining a partnership offer from Surya Nepal Private Limited, the country’s largest tobacco company.

  The donation was offered for a new children’s…

• In its recently released (16 April) “Final Opinion on Electronic Cigarettes,” the European Union’s Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental, and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) highlights concerns about e-cigarettes and finds insufficient, or “weak,” evidence that they help…