Efforts to end TB were in the spotlight at the 71st World Health Assembly (WHA) on 20-26 May 2018. After one year in office, WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus opened the WHA with an ambitious agenda for change.
World Health Assembly delegates agreed on the Organization’s 13th General Programme of Work (GPW) designed to help the world achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – with a particular focus on SDG 3 (Ensuring healthy lives and promoting wellbeing for all at all ages by 2030). The plan includes key milestones towards ending TB, aiming by 2023 to, reduce TB deaths by 50% compared to 2018, increase coverage of treatment for drug-resistant TB to 80% of estimated incidence, and ensuring Zero TB-affected families face catastrophic costs due to TB.
Highlights
World Health Assembly adopts a Resolution with commitments to act faster to end TB and in support of the 2018 UN High Level Meeting on TB
On 24 May, the WHA urged the WHO Director-General, Member States and partners to continue support to preparations for the high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on ending tuberculosis in September this year.
The resolution also commits Member States to accelerate their actions to end TB, building on the commitments of the WHO Global Ministerial Conference on Ending TB, held in Moscow in November 2017. It welcomes WHO's draft multisectoral accountability framework on accelerating progress to end TB, and supports its further development, adaptation and use. It also requests the Secretariat to develop a new global strategy for TB research and innovation, building on the Moscow Declaration to End TB.
Current efforts to implement the World Health Assembly-approved End TB Strategy and to meet the SDG target of ending TB are currently falling short. TB claimed 1.7 million lives in 2016 worldwide, including 0.4 million among people with HIV. TB remains the leading infectious disease killer in the world and is one of the top ten global causes of death. It is hoped that the September meeting will prompt far greater high-level political commitment.
Key events
20 May - End TB at the Walk the Talk Health for All Challenge
On the eve of the World Health Assembly, and as part of celebrations of the World Health Organization’s 70th anniversary in 2018, WHO organized a major health promotion event in Geneva titled Walk the Talk: The Health for All Challenge. Staff from the WHO Global TB Programme, Stop TB Partnership, Global Fund, The Union, countries and partners came together in End TB Tshirts in a show of unity to End TB at the event.
22 May - Interactive session: Towards the UN High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis and beyond
An interactive open panel was held on 22 May, to build awareness and answer questions from delegates on the upcoming UN High-Level Meeting on TB which will be held on 26 September, and promote highest level participation from countries in the meeting. Information was also provided on the newly launched joint initiative titled: “FIND. TREAT. ALL. #ENDTB” between WHO, Stop TB Partnership and the Global Fund, which aims to reach 40 million people with TB with quality treatment in the next 5 years.
The event was moderated by Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director of the WHO Global TB Programme. Panelists included, Dr. Ren Minghui, WHO Assistant Director-General, Communicable Diseases, Dr Yasuhiro Suzuki, Vice-Minister of Health, Japan, Dr Lucica Ditiu, Executive Director, Stop TB Partnership, Dr Marijke Wijnroks, Chief of Staff, Global Fund, Ms Sharonann Lynch, HIV & TB Policy Advisor, MSF Access Campaign, Dr Janet Ginnard, Team Leader - Strategy, UNITAID, and Dr Mustapha Gidado, KNCV Director Challenge TB. The event was streamed live through the WHO Twitter channel, and has had over 4300 views. Check out the video here
The event also featured a selfie stand where delegates were invited to be photographed with the End TB logo, and provided with a picture as a memento for promotion on social media.
23 May - WHA BRICS side event: Towards the First UN High Level Meeting on TB: Role of BRICS countries in TB elimination
On 23 May, an official side event co-sponsored by the Ministries of Health of South Africa and the Russian Federation was held during the World Health Assembly.
The meeting brought together participants from countries, partners and civil society to: discuss the upcoming UN High-Level Meeting on TB in New York on 26 September 2018, advocate for highest level participation and discuss the asks of the TB community. The event was co-facilitated by Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director of the WHO Global TB Programme and Ms Precious Matsoso, Director- General of Health of South Africa, along with Dr Lucica Ditiu, Executive Director of the Stop TB Partnership.
Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, Minister of Health, South Africa opened the meeting with Dr Soumya Swaminathan WHO Deputy Director-General. This was followed by addresses by the Health Minister of India- Dr JP Nadda; Mr Gilberto Occhi, Minister of Health, Brazil; Mr Mao, Director General of Disease Prevention and Control, China and Dr Evgeny Kamkin Director of the department of organization of medical care and sanatorium affairs. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General made a keynote speech calling for high level commitment to end TB and 100 Heads of State to be at the UN High Level Meeting on TB.
Civil society representatives and partners including - Results, KNCV, The Union, UNITAID, and MSF also actively participated in the event.
Meetings with country delegations & partners
Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director of the WHO Global TB Programme met with several country delegations during the World Health Assembly including, Australia, Brazil, China, DRC, Ethiopia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Russian Federation, Tanzania and Viet Nam, in collaboration with Stop TB and the Global Fund. Several meetings with partners were also held, including with, USAID, TB Alliance, The Union, MSF and UNITAID.
About the World Health Assembly
The World Health Assembly is the decision-making body of WHO. It is attended by delegations from all WHO Member States and focuses on a specific health agenda prepared by the Executive Board. The main functions of the World Health Assembly are to determine the policies of the Organization, appoint the Director-General, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed programme budget. The Health Assembly is held annually in Geneva, Switzerland.