The first-ever UN High-Level Meeting (HLM) on Tuberculosis (TB) will take place on 26 September in New York. After decades of neglect, political attention has finally turned to TB. In 2016, the United Nations General Assembly agreed to hold the meeting, where Heads of State from around the world will gather to make new global commitments to combat the disease. Tuberculosis is the world’s deadliest infectious disease, killing over 1.5 million people last year – more than Ebola, HIV and malaria combined, but, through the efforts of public health field workers, it is preventable and curable with treatment.
No country remains untouched, including the UK, which remains a TB hotspot in Europe and once held the unfortunate accolade of being the TB capital of Western Europe. Globally, many low- and middle-income countries are struggling to contain this growing global health threat, especially with the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Many TB programmes remain under-funded and lack the tools needed to diagnose, prevent and treat TB effectively.
In addition, TB is a disease of poverty and a more integrated approach to TB control is also needed that addresses not just the disease but also the person who has the disease and the social causes in which they live.
A report on this first-ever UN High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis is scheduled to appear in a future issue of Pathology in Practice.