USAID Celebrates World TB Day
World TB Day gives the global community the opportunity to raise awareness about TB prevention, diagnosis, and treatment and to support worldwide efforts to address this public health challenge. The global fight against the disease remains fragile. We are now at a crossroads between TB elimination within our lifetime and millions more TB deaths. We can eliminate TB through partnerships, research, early diagnosis, better access to treatment, advocacy, and social mobilization. By identifying cases early and treating new and existing cases, we can create communities around the world that are TB free!
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Source: TB Care | Cambodia |
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Source: Laura Salvinelli / World Health Organization (WHO)
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Spotlight: Event
TB is one of the world’s best buys in global health because it is usually curable with inexpensive drugs. Major innovations in TB are on the horizon that will reduce suffering and save money. Thanks to bold leadership, progress in the fight against TB has accelerated in the past year. Help us celebrate those leaders in the fight against TB by joining us via live stream. The event, cohosted by USAID, Global Health and Diplomacy, RESULTS, and ATS, is tonight, March 20, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.
Host Dr. Ariel Pablos-Méndez, assistant administrator for Global Health at USAID, and special guest Ambassador Eric Goosby, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, will be honoring and recognizing global patient-advocates and champions in the fight against TB with achievement awards.
Achievement Awards
- Senator Sherrod Brown
- Representative Eliot Engel
- Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia
- Treatment Action Group
- The GeneXpert Technology Development Team (University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, and Cepheid)
Read more about their contributions to TB and view their biographies.
TB Day Resources
Join the Conversation
Follow the World TB Day social media campaign, and share the message with friends and family.
- Follow @USAIDGH and retweet the message! Don’t forget to use the #worldTBday hashtag.
- Join us tomorrow morning from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on Twitter for our TB Twitter expert hour with the TB Alliance for World TB Day. Send questions to @USAIDGH or @TBAlliance using the hashtag #GHhour.
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Watch our Facebook page for updates and photos from events throughout the week.
New Report to Congress on TB
Accelerating Impact. Expanding Access to Care: U.S. Government Report to Congress on International Foreign Assistance for Tuberculosis FY 2011/2012 highlights key programmatic achievements and collaboration of the different U.S. Government agencies involved in global TB programs, bringing comparative expertise to address the many challenges of TB. It includes the latest data on key results for USAID-funded TB activities and highlights successful projects in Malawi, Brazil, Afghanistan, and Cambodia, among others.
TB throughout History
For centuries, TB has been a major scourge for humanity. The disease has affected all types of people – from artists to First Ladies – and has made the headlines countless times. Today, TB is still a highly contagious bacterial disease spread by coughing and sneezing. In 2011, more than 1.4 million people died of TB. It’s the second-leading cause of death from infectious disease worldwide. Take a look at the posters depicting TB throughout history:
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MARCH 2013
