WHO steps up the Director-General’s flagship initiative to combat tuberculosis
On the occasion on World TB Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) is announcing the expanded scope of the WHO Director-General’s (DG) Flagship Initiative on tuberculosis over the period from 2023 to 2027 to support fast-tracking progress towards ending TB and achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030.
The WHO DG flagship initiative on TB builds on the progress achieved and lessons learned from 2018-2022. It aims to scale up the delivery of quality care to people living with TB through equitable access to WHO-recommended rapid diagnostics, shorter all-oral treatment for infection and disease, increasing their access to social protection and other innovations including digital tools for health.
The initiative highlights the pressing need to increase both domestic and international investments in TB services, research, and innovation, particularly in new vaccine development. It calls for TB services and programs, particularly in countries with a high TB burden, to be recognized as an essential component of health systems, bolstering primary healthcare and pandemic preparedness and response.
The DG’s flagship initiative aims to drive multisectoral action and accountability to tackle the key drivers of the TB epidemic - poverty, undernourishment, diabetes, HIV, tobacco and alcohol use, poor living and working conditions, among others. And its enhanced scope is much needed and timely as the international partners prepare for the upcoming UN High-Level Meeting on TB.
World Tuberculosis Day this year is being commemorated under the theme 'Yes! We can end TB!' with the goal of promoting optimism and fostering high-level leadership, increased investments, rapid adoption of new WHO recommendations, and strengthened multisectoral partnerships to combat the TB epidemic.
As part of the DG Flagship initiative, a special call to action is being issued by WHO and partners urging Member States to accelerate the rollout of new WHO-recommended shorter all-oral treatment regimens for drug-resistant TB.
Drug-resistant TB continues to be a pressing public health concern, taking a significant toll on individuals affected by TB, communities, and healthcare systems worldwide. In 2021, nearly half a million people fell ill with multidrug- or rifampicin-resistant TB (MDR/RR-TB), only one in three accessed treatment.
New WHO guidelines on drug-resistant TB treatment recommend rapid roll-out of the novel BPaLM/BPaL regimen that has the potential to significantly increase cure rates due to its high effectiveness, offer more extensive access because of its lower cost, and improve patients' quality of life, as it is an all-oral treatment that is considerably shorter than traditional regimens.
