23-03-2020 | di COOPI

Let's end TB, let's strengthen global health

24th march 2020 - Tbc day

The whole world is grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic that is testing the global health infrastructure. As we tackle this pandemic and its aftermath, we must not lose sight of the major international epidemics and their impact on the daily lives of millions of people.

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of them and the people who suffer from it are weaker even in the face of Covid-19, we must not forget this.

"The culture of 'One Health' that recognizes the relationship between human, animal and environmental health must spread - says Stefania Burbo, focal point of the Global Health Italian Network, on the occasion of the International TB Day - to diagnose in a short time the onset of new pandemics. It is also important to create, at a global level, strong and resilient health systems capable of effectively fighting both known epidemics and emergency crises such as the one caused by Covid-19".

The Global Health Italian Network recalls with updated data the resources put in place so far by the Global Fund, the largest multilateral financial instrument for the strengthening of health systems. It provides about 70% of all international funding to end tuberculosis, with 5.3 million people treated in 2018. The Global Fund has spent almost 10 billion on fighting tuberculosis since its inception and today it supports 464 interventions, 251 partners, in 124 countries.

Not only that, defeating TB is part of the sustainable development goals of the 2030 Agenda, as recalled by the Stop TB Partnership, which stresses, among other things, the urgent need to combat the growing prevalence of drug-resistant tuberculosis.

Timur Abdullaev, human rights and health expert, a member of the Global Fund Advocates Network in Uzbekistan and a person affected by TB and HIV, has no doubt: "continuous and substantial investment is needed in global health, regardless of what epidemic, pandemic or disease threatens our well-being and that of our families and communities".

Download the Global Fund infographic

Some world data on TB+

The TB kills over 4,000 people every day.
?More than $2 billion per year is needed for research & development, but current funding levels do not even reach half of that.
10 million people contract TB every year. Of these, 3 million do not have access to diagnosis and treatment.
One third of the world's population is suffering from tuberculosis. If these people also contract HIV infection, their life expectancy is drastically reduced.
Drug-resistant TB remains one of the major public health crises in the world: an estimated 558,000 people developed the most widely used strain of drug-resistant first-line TB in 2017.

Stop TB Partnership
International partnership including international organisations, government programmes, research and funding agencies, foundations, NGOs, civil society and the private sector.

Global Health Italian Network
It's a network of 10 civil society organizations committed to the fight against the three epidemics [Aids, TB, Malaria] and for the right to global health. The Network aims to contribute to the achievement of the sustainable development goals of Agenda 2030, with particular attention to issues related to the right to health