Tuberculosis Stakeholders, Survivors and Advocates Pledge Zero Deaths from TB

Highlights from the 45th Union World Conference on Lung Health

Tuberculosis (TB) stakeholders, advocates, and community leaders from across the globe recently gathered in Barcelona, Spain, from October 28 – November 1, for the 45th Union World Conference on Lung Health. The conference theme, “Community-Driven Solutions for the Next Generation,” stressed the need for a collaborative relationship between health systems and the communities they serve and drew representation from major leaders in lung health, including experts in the fields of HIV, lung disease, non-communicable diseases, and tuberculosis.

Additional Resources Lessons from Multidrug-Resistant TB on How Evidence can Catalyse Policy Change, a Huffington Post blog by USAID Assistant Administrator for Global Health Dr. Ariel Pablos-Méndez and Dr. Mario Raviglione, Director, WHO Global TB Programme WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2014 U.S. Government Report on International Foreign Assistance for Tuberculosis [PDF, 2.1MB] USAID Tuberculosis Programs Follow the conversation around the conference using #WCLH2014 and #LungHealth

The conference inaugural session featured inspiring calls to action from ministers of health and high-level officials from India, Britain and South Africa, who called on the global community to “stand up” in solidarity to defeat TB once and for all.

Highlights from the conference include:

• The first-ever Barcelona Declaration on Tuberculosis calling TB a global political priority and issued by political representatives spanning five continents.
• Preliminary data showing high success rate for a dramatically shortened 9-month multidrug-resistant TB treatment [PDF, 296KB].
• A high-level dialogue focused on making the new Global Fund funding model work for TB.
• A new report calling attention to the looming TB-diabetes epidemic [PDF, 639KB].

Technical advisors from the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) TB team chaired and participated in several symposia and workshops at the conference including tracks on research and innovation in TB treatment, management of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), TB-HIV co-infection, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria’s new funding model, patient-centered models of care, and childhood TB.

The conference saw record attendance from more than 3,300 participants from around the world with an enhanced focus on showcasing the stories and voices of TB survivors, advocates, and community leaders.

Photo credit: Control and Prevention of Tuberculosis Project