Each year, we recognize World TB Day on March 24, 2024. In observance of this year’s World TB Day, RIATT-ESA joins the rest of the world in commemorating and reaffirming its commitment to ending TB through its work. World TB Day is a day to educate the public about the impact of TB around the world. This year’s World TB Day has been celebrated under the theme “Yes! We can end TB”. TB is still one of the world’s deadliest diseases and recent years have seen a worrying increase in drug-resistant TB. The World Health Organization estimates that 10.6 million people developed active TB in 2022, of whom 1.3 million were children, and 1.3 million people died from the disease. Adolescents (10 to 19 years) and those people living with HIV have the highest risk of mortality.
Following the United Nations high-level meeting in September 2023, WHO is encouraging a) Investment, b) Uptake of the latest WHO recommendations c) adoption of innovations, and d) active involvement of civil society organizations in the fight against the pandemic.
TB is distributed inequitably, with the highest burden of disease worldwide occurring in resource-limited settings where confirming TB diagnoses in children is challenging. We, therefore, join WHO in encouraging all partners and stakeholders to invest in ending TB through advancing high-impact clinical research, and technological innovations, catalyzing adequate financing and policy directions that build on localizing WHO recommendations.
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