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Working with religious leaders in India’s Muslim community, The Union’s Project Axshya has reached local religious schools, called madrasas, in 15 districts in two states with crucial TB information, including recognising symptoms, and accessing free treatment and diagnostic…

The Union’s team in the Democratic Republic of Congo secured transfer from prison to hospital for 24 inmates infected with tuberculosis (TB), following a successful advocacy meeting with the Governor of Eastern Kasaï and local members of the Security Committee.

The…

The Union’s Senior Advisor and Director of Research, Prof Anthony D Harries, co-authored a paper calling for human-rights based approaches to reaching tuberculosis (TB) patients lost to follow-up with colleagues from the International HIV/AIDS Alliance in UK, the division of…

Juggling the Union’s global finances alongside the role of Deputy Executive Director and now that of Regional Director Asia Pacific may seem like a daunting – as well as impossible - challenge to most. But for Prabodh Bhambal it’s one that he relishes.

He…

Mobile TB screening and health information centres bring vital tuberculosis (TB) services to some 600 people in hard-to-reach areas every month in the seven townships of Mandalay, through The Union’s programme in Myanmar. Mobile units conduct sputum smear exams and chest x-…

Parliamentarians from 12 European and Central Asian countries convened in Bratislava from 24-26 June for the European TB Summit, issuing a united call for governments to put tuberculosis (TB) back on the political agenda.

This inaugural meeting of the Eurasian…

The 7th Union Europe Region conference launched in Bratislava on 22 June.  This three-day event attracted over 600 delegates including government representatives, healthcare professionals, medical experts and organisations.

The conference began with an affirmation…

Last week, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund) and the STOP TB Partnership signed an agreement to optimise access to TB drugs and treatment services. 

The Union welcomes the news that two of the world’s foremost global public…

The Union has joined international partners to ramp up media coverage of Indonesia’s escalating tobacco epidemic, highlighting the importance of accession to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). Indonesia has some of the highest…

Refugees and migrants do not cause health crises

A message from José Luis Castro for World Refugee Day, 20 June 2016  

It is appropriate that World Refugee Day on 20 June coincides with the eve of the 7th Union Europe Region Conference in Bratislava,…

The Union’s world conference draws on historic legacy to bring collaborative thinking to Liverpool

A message from José Luis Castro

This week registration opened for The Union’s annual conference on lung health.  This is the world’s largest meeting of…

The theme for World No Tobacco Day 2016 (WNTD) was ‘Get Ready for Plain Packaging’. The Union joined international calls for countries to introduce plain tobacco packaging to encourage users to quit and discourage non-users from trying addictive nicotine products. Further,…

President Obama and Prime Minister Modi underline importance of MDR-TB

A message from José Luis Castro  

Last week, President Barack Obama welcomed Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi to Washington, DC. During the visit, numerous bilateral commitments…

Edinburgh, UK, 31 May 2016 – This World No Tobacco Day, The Union joins international calls for countries to introduce plain tobacco packaging to encourage users to quit and discourage non-users from trying addictive nicotine products. Further, The Union calls for a ‘plain…

Get ready for plain packaging

A message from José Luis Castro for World No Tobacco Day on 31 May 2016  

In support of World No Tobacco Day, 31 May, The Union calls on governments around the world to prepare to introduce plain packaging – eliminating one…

The Union, in collaboration with the Lilly MDR-TB Partnership, is working with local communities to train rural healthcare providers (RHCPs) to provide basic tuberculosis (TB) care, control and prevention, while also reporting new cases of TB to the Revised National…

The Community-Based Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) Care project, implemented through The Union Office in Myanmar, has been extended to ten additional areas, bringing its total reach to 33 townships across Myanmar, through a grant from the Global Fund to fight AIDS…

For the past 30 years, healthcare workers providing care to persons with tuberculosis (TB) and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and co-morbidities have turned to The Union to learn fundamental skills and the latest best practices.

The Union’s international TB…

The Union, working with a group of medical experts, highlighted the important role the media plays in bringing an end to tuberculosis (TB) in India during a media roundtable event hosted in Delhi in May.

Panellists urged the Indian media to use their influence to…

In 2009 when Gan Quan began working for The Union in China, few people had heard of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). Remarkably, just over six years later, a draft national tobacco control law now has strong political support…

The 3rd Conference of The Union South East Asia Region opens on the 26th May in Kathmandu, Nepal. Coordinated by the Nepal Anti-Tuberculosis Association (NATA) with a theme of TB and Lung Health, the conference brings together regional and international experts in the fields…

At its most recent board meeting, World Health Organization Director General Margaret Chan said, “Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a danger of the utmost urgency…We have a global action plan. What we need now is the action.”

As a cornerstone of the issue of…

Edinburgh, UK, 23 May 2016 – Axa, one of the world’s largest insurance companies, announced today that it is selling all 1.8 billion euros (£1.3bn/USD2.0bn) of its tobacco industry shares, saying it made no sense to invest in a sector that killed more than six million people…

Edinburgh, UK, 19 May 2016 – The tobacco industry suffered another crushing defeat today after losing a UK high court battle on the standardised packaging rules due to come into force tomorrow. 

Plain packs will be the same shape, size and drab brown colour,…

This World No Tobacco Day, 31 May, The Union will unite with WHO and partners and call on all countries to get ready for plain packaging.

Plain packs are devoid of all branding and display large pictorial and written warnings on the health consequences of tobacco use…