On World Tuberculosis Day on 24th March 2020, the Activists’ Coalition on TB Asia-Pacific (ACT! AP), APCASO, Global Coalition of TB Activists (GCTA), and Global Fund Advocates Network Asia-Pacific (GFAN AP) release a joint statement reminding the world that the fight against Tuberculosis (TB) is not yet over, and urging and reminding governments on their commitments towards Universal Health Coverage through leaving no one behind, and on the declaration adopted at the United Nations High Level-Meeting on TB to end TB by 2030.
Whilst the world is battling the COVID-19 pandemic, the joint statement calls on governments to effectively respond to a global health crisis in a timely manner, which is applicable to existing health systems in addressing the TB epidemic, and the urgent need to establish people-centred, sustainable and resilient systems for health (including communities and civil society systems) to address existing and future epidemics and pandemics; and that continued investments in health (while ensuring that diseases are fully financed and budgeted for) are a cornerstone for ensuring healthy people for healthy economies.
Stop TB Partnership has developed a set of materials and toolkits to support collaborative action to push TB in front of all decision makers, stakeholders, and world leaders to ask them to fulfil the commitments that they made at the UN High-Level Meeting on TB. Please click here to access the full World TB Day 2020 Campaign.