March 24 – World Tuberculosis Day

Each year, we commemorate World Tuberculosis (TB) Day on March 24 to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of TB, and to step up efforts to end the global TB epidemic.

The date marks the day in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes TB, which opened the way towards diagnosing and curing this disease.

The theme of World TB Day 2022 – ‘Invest to End TB. Save Lives.’ – conveys the urgent need to invest resources to ramp up the fight against TB and achieve the commitments to end TB made by global leaders. This is especially critical in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that has put End TB progress at risk, and to ensure equitable access to prevention and care in line with WHO’s drive towards achieving Universal Health Coverage.

About one quarter of the world’s population is infected with tuberculosis (TB) bacteria. Only a small proportion of those infected will become sick with TB.

• In 2020, an estimated 10 million people fell ill with tuberculosis  worldwide. 5.6 million men, 3.3 million women and 1.1 million children; 
• TB is present in all countries and age groups. But TB is curable and preventable;
•  A total of 1.5 million people died from TB in 2020 (including 214 000 people with HIV). Worldwide, TB is the 13th leading cause of death and the second leading infectious killer after COVID-19 (above HIV/AIDS);
•  In 2020, the 30 high TB burden countries accounted for 86% of new TB cases. Eight countries account for two thirds of the total, with India leading the count, followed by China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh and South Africa;
• In 2020, 1.1 million children fell ill with TB globally. Child and adolescent TB is often overlooked by health providers and can be difficult to diagnose and treat;
• TB treatment saved about 66 million lives globally between 2000 and 2020, but important diagnostic and treatment gaps persist.

(WHO, 2021)

In 2019, WHO launched a new initiative called 1+1 on the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day. The initiative aims at advancing engagement with young people, and amplifying their voices to end TB. Youth can have a multiplier effect in the fight to end TB, to accelerate progress towards reaching the ambitious 2022 targets of the UN high-level meeting on ending TB, as well as the larger goal of ending TB by 2030. Vision - scaling up of global, regional and national actions to prioritize, invest in and engage with young people in the fight to end TB. This will serve to meet their specific needs and realize their rights, as well as tap into their potential as agents of change.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is organizing a special virtual talk show to commemorate World TB Day on 24 March. 
Please click the link below to join the event:
Thursday, 24 March 2022, 12:30H – 15:00H CET
https://who.zoom.us/j/91034239152  
Password: 21TB$wH5

Useful links:

https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-tb-day/2022 
https://www.who.int/teams/global-tuberculosis-programme 
https://www.who.int/teams/global-tuberculosis-programme/tb-reports
https://www.who.int/initiatives/who-1-1-initiative