A special Mission Briefing and Luncheon was organized at the United Nations (UN) in New York to commemorate World TB Day on 21 March. The event was co-sponsored by WHO, Stop TB Partnership, US Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Permanent Missions of Japan, Antigua & Barbuda, Brazil, and the Russian Federation. Around a hundred participants, including ambassadors, deputy ambassadors, counsellors and representatives from over 50 Permanent Missions to the UN, joined the World TB Day commemoration, despite New York being affected by a snow storm.
High-level speakers from the offices of the President of the General Assembly, the office of the UN Secretary General, UN Special Envoy on TB- Dr Eric Goosby, UNAIDS, USAID, the missions of Japan, Brazil, Russian Federation, Stop TB, UNICEF, and two TB survivors and advocates: Ingrid Schoeman and Jeffry Acaba, spoke passionately at the event highlighting the importance of the upcoming UN high level meeting on TB.
The focus of the Briefing was to bring together UN Member States and partners to commemorate World TB Day and discuss actions towards the first-ever UN General Assembly High Level Meeting (UNHLM) on TB.
Ambassador Korro Bessho from the Mission of Japan to the United Nations, welcomed participants on behalf of both Japan and Antigua & Barbuda who are co-facilitators of the UN High Level Meeting on TB. He announced that the UNHLM on TB would be held on 26 September 2018, on the theme of "United to end tuberculosis: an urgent global response to a global epidemic." He also outlined the process for the lead-up to the event.
At the close of the event, a special installation was unveiled by high level dignitaries, launching the push to the UNHLM on TB, building on commitments made by 120 countries at the first WHO Global Ministerial Conference on Ending TB in November 2017. The installation is a 3D replica of the SDG-End TB logo & red arrow. Please check out the video of the unveiling here. The installation will stay at the UN lobby until the UNHLM in September.
