Raising awareness of the TB epidemic
Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a bacterium that primarily affects the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body such as the kidneys, spine, and brain. It is spread through the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or speaks. In order to highlight the concern over TB disease and in order to combat with it One world TB Summit has been organized.
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TB can be either latent or active. Latent TB occurs when the body is able to contain the bacteria and prevent them from causing symptoms or spreading to others, while active TB occurs when the bacteria multiply and cause symptoms such as a persistent cough, fever, night sweats, and weight loss.
TB is treatable with antibiotics, but treatment must be taken for several months to ensure that all the bacteria have been eliminated. TB is a major global health problem, with an estimated 10 million cases and 1.4 million deaths worldwide in 2019, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).TB summits are high-level meetings aimed at raising awareness of the TB epidemic, mobilizing resources, and developing strategies to combat the disease.
The first-ever UN High-Level Meeting on TB was held in September 2018, where world leaders committed to accelerating efforts to end TB by 2030. In November 2019, the “Global TB Summit” was held in Hyderabad, India. This was a gathering of government officials, scientists, and advocates from around the world, aimed at accelerating progress towards the WHO’s goal of ending TB by 2030. The summit focused on improving TB diagnosis and treatment, developing new TB drugs and vaccines, and addressing the social determinants of TB.
What are TB Summits?
The TB Summit is an initiative that aims to bring together key stakeholders, including government representatives, policymakers, healthcare professionals, researchers, advocates, and people affected by TB, to discuss strategies and solutions for ending the global TB epidemic. The summit seeks to build political commitment and support for TB control efforts, increase investment in TB research and development, and promote the implementation of evidence-based interventions to prevent, diagnose, and treat TB.
The TB Summit Is often organized in conjunction with the United Nations High-Level Meeting on TB, which provides a platform for global leaders to reaffirm their commitment to ending TB and to discuss ways to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The first-ever UN High-Level Meeting on TB was held in September 2018 and resulted in a political declaration in which member states committed to mobilize sufficient and sustainable financing for TB prevention and care, to promote access to affordable and quality-assured TB medicines and diagnostics, and to support TB research and development.
The TB Summit and UN High-Level Meeting on TB provide important opportunities for global collaboration and advocacy to end the TB epidemic, which remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases.
One World TB Summit
Many state governors, several state health secretaries, and managing directors of the National Health Mission participated in the One Global TB Conference – 2023 online. Representatives from businesses, industries, civil society, NGOs, and TB champions also attended the event, which reaffirmed India’s commitment to eradicating the extremely contagious disease by 2025—five years earlier than the international goal of 2030.
The “Annual India TB Report 2023,” published by the Prime Minister, details the nation’s efforts to eradicate tuberculosis in India by 2025.
At the occasion, a training course on pulmonary tuberculosis was also unveiled. In both the public and private sectors of India, this module has been designed to train health professionals at the secondary and tertiary levels. The TB-Free Panchayat Initiative was also introduced by the prime minister in an effort to mobilize over 2.5 lakh gram panchayats in support of TB awareness campaigns, the eradication of the disease’s stigma, and the monitoring and enhancement of services.
In order to stop the spread of the disease, preventive therapy has also been made available as a novel form of treatment. In addition, a family-centered care strategy was introduced to safeguard the welfare of TB-affected households. Moreover, Narendra Modi dedicated the Metropolitan Public Health Surveillance Unit’s location as well as the National Center for Disease Control and High Control Laboratory in Varanasi
The Prime Minister also congratulated the states and districts on the occasion for making noteworthy advancements on crucial programme indicators to eradicate TB. Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu), Pulwama (Jammu and Kashmir), and Anantnag (Jammu and Kashmir) received district level prizes, while Karnataka and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir received recognition in the States/UTs category.
At the occasion, Narendra Modi emphasized that ICMR institutions like the National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (NIRT) had finished the largest national TB infection survey in history, which had aided in determining the state-level prevalence of TB in order to develop targeted programmatic initiatives. India is the only nation in the world to use the SNC function for subnational certification. It is a cutting-edge scientific technique that allows districts to be evaluated for their success in eradicating TB. The Prime Minister also disclosed that more than Rs 2,000 crore had been transferred to the accounts of more than 75 lakh TB patients through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) programme.
Importantly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to abolish TB in India by 2025 in March 2018, whilst the rest of the world wants to accomplish the SDGs linked to TB by 2030.
Some Notable TB Summits
There have been several high-level meetings and summits in recent years aimed at addressing the global tuberculosis (TB) epidemic. One notable example is the United Nations High-Level Meeting on TB, which took place in September 2018.
- The meeting was the first-ever gathering of heads of state and government to discuss TB and resulted in a political declaration committing countries to accelerate efforts to end the TB epidemic by 2030.
- The declaration also included commitments to increase funding for TB research and development and to improve access to affordable medicines and vaccines.
- Another significant TB summit is the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Ministerial Conference on Ending TB, which was held in November 2017 in Moscow, Russia.
- The conference brought together ministers of health and other government officials from around the world to discuss strategies for ending the TB epidemic.
- The conference resulted in the Moscow Declaration to End TB, which outlines a roadmap for ending the global TB epidemic by 2030.
- The Stop TB Partnership, a global coalition working to end TB, also hosts an annual World TB Day event that brings together government
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