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Tuberculosis

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TB is an infectious bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs. It is transmitted from person to person through the air. The symptoms of active TB include cough, chest pains, weakness, weight loss, fever and night sweats. In healthy people, infection often does not cause symptoms, because the person’s immune system acts to wall off the bacteria.

Key facts
  • In 2022, tuberculosis became the second leading infectious disease killer globally after COVID-19. It was also the main cause of death among people living with HIV and one of the leading causes of antimicrobial resistance-related deaths. 
  • Globally, an estimated 10.6 million people became ill with TB, and 1.3 million died from TB; of these, 167,000 were co-infected with HIV.
  • In the Americas, in 2022, 325,000 new TB cases were estimated and 239,987 (74%) were notified, which was 4% more than in 2021.
  • Estimated deaths for the region were 35,000, of which 11,000 corresponded to TB/HIV co-infection.
  • A total of 5,136 cases of MDR/MDR-TB were diagnosed. Of these, 90% started treatment.
  • The End TB Strategy aims to end the global TB epidemic and is linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under three high-level indicators: reduce the number of TB deaths by 95% compared to 2015, reduce new cases by 90% between 2015 and 2035, and ensure that no family faces catastrophic costs due to TB.
Fact sheet

Highlights

UN High-level Meeting on TB

1- Scope, modalities, format and organization of the high-level meeting on the fight against tuberculosis 

2- WHO consultations with grassroot communities and civil society to strengthen engagement to End TB Social listening and community feedback for UNHLM TB 2023 

Global efforts to fight TB have saved an estimated 74 million lives since 2000. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and socioeconomic inequalities have reversed years of progress in the fight against TB and further increased the burden on those affected, especially the most vulnerable. In the latest Global Tuberculosis Report, WHO highlighted that TB incidence and deaths have increased for the first time in more than a decade.

2023 is a crucial year to advance the end TB agenda at the highest level; heads of state will meet for the second time in September 2023 to deliberate on accelerating efforts to end TB at the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Ending TB.

The Americas Region, aware of the importance of the participation of civil society and affected communities in the fight against TB, has promoted joint activities with civil society, vulnerable migrant populations, indigenous peoples, people deprived of their liberty, among others.

The WHO Civil Society Working Group on TB has proposed to conduct a series of regional consultations in order to learn the perspectives of communities in general and those affected by TB on the implementation of the End TB Strategy and the commitments of the 2018 High-Level Meeting.

The Regional Tuberculosis Program of the Americas conducted this Consultation in two phases:

  1. Subregional Consultation: Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, on March 28, 2023 (Contraseña: 6=.a&zmV)
  2. Subregional Consultation: North America and the English-speaking Caribbean, on April 18, 2023 (Contraseña: 4?FUa&&9)

The consultation aimed to strengthen engagement with affected communities and civil society in efforts to end TB and, in particular, to engage their voices in preparation for the 2023 UN High-Level Meeting on TB.

As a result of these consultations, the five main recommendations for actions proposed by civil society to be incorporated into the new September 2023 declaration towards the End of TB were identified.

3- Parliamentary Summit of the Americas against Tuberculosis (Spanish only)

  • Agenda
  • Statement

4- UN Multistakeholder Hearings on Tuberculosis 

WHO Multisectoral Accountability Framework for TB

 

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World Tuberculosis Day 2024: Peru
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World Tuberculosis Day 2024: Peru
World Tuberculosis Day 2024: Paraguay
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World Tuberculosis Day 2024: Paraguay
Dr Jarbas Barbosa — Together, we can end tuberculosis!
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Dr Jarbas Barbosa — Together, we can end tuberculosis!
Webinar: Virtual regional meeting for the socialization and accelerated implementation of the new shorter treatment Tuberculosis with technical support from the regional Green Light Committee
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Webinar: Virtual regional meeting for the socialization and accelerated impleme…

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