In 2016, WHO reported that 10.4 million people fell ill with TB and there were 1.7 million TB deaths, making it the top infectious killer worldwide. This disease is deeply rooted in populations where human rights and dignity are limited. While anyone can contract TB, the disease thrives among people living in poverty, communities and groups that are marginalized, and other vulnerable populations. Factors such as malnutrition, poor housing and sanitation, compounded by other risk factors such as tobacco and alcohol use and diabetes, affect vulnerability to TB and access to care. Furthermore, this access is often hindered by catastrophic costs associated with illness, seeking and staying in care, and lack of social protection, resulting in a vicious cycle of poverty and ill-health.
2017 is the second year of a two-year "Unite to End TB" campaign for World TB Day. This year, WHO will place a special focus on uniting efforts to "Leave No One Behind", including actions to address stigma, discrimination, marginalization and overcome barriers to access care.
World TB Day provides the platform for affected persons and communities, civil society organizations, health-care providers, policy makers, development partners and others to advocate, discuss and plan further collaboration to fulfil the promise of reaching all people with quality TB prevention and care services, as well as enabling TB prevention through multisectoral development efforts.
At the Centre for International Child Health, we are working in various low and middle income countries around the world to improve health outcomes specifically in children. Our Smart Discharges program in Uganda is helping to keep children healthy after they leave the hospital following a serious infection, such as TB. Children hospitalized for serious infections, like TB, in Africa have a very high post-discharge mortality rate. Smart Discharges helps to identify the most vulnerable children before they go home from the hospital so that health professionals can provide them with life-saving tools.
To learn more about multisectoral initiatives taking place to end TB, visit the WHO website here: www.who.int
