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Global Fund Statement on the Political Declaration of the UN High-Level Meeting on the Fight Against Tuberculosis
22 September 2023
GENEVA – The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria welcomes the political declaration approved at the high-level meeting on the fight against tuberculosis.
“In 2022, most TB programs registered strong recoveries from the impact of COVID-19. That progress is evidence that it is possible to defeat this disease,” said Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “But we must sustain this momentum. We are still off track to meet the Sustainable Development Goal 3 target of ending TB as a global public health threat by 2030. Finding everyone with TB and drug-resistant TB and ensuring they are offered testing and effective treatment will save millions of lives.”
“We need to accelerate the development of innovative, effective, accessible and affordable tools to prevent, diagnose and treat TB,” continued Sands. “Further investments are required in the research and development of health products, including new short-course drug regimens and new TB vaccines. Finishing the unfinished fights against preventable, treatable diseases like TB is also the best way to achieve universal health coverage and prepare for and prevent future pandemics. Strengthening TB programs improves health systems and has multiple spillover benefits for other diseases. We need the whole world to come together to defeat this disease once and for all.”
The Global Fund provides the largest share – 76% – of all international financing for TB (US$9.2 billion in programs to prevent and care for people with TB and US$1.5 billion in TB/HIV programs as of 30 June 2023).
In countries where the Global Fund invests, TB deaths since the Global Fund was founded in 2002 have been reduced by 16% as of 2021, while new TB cases (all forms) have dropped by 4%. In the absence of TB control measures, deaths would have increased by 143% and TB cases by 36% in the same period.
In 2020 and 2021, COVID-19 severely disrupted global progress against TB, but thanks to the tireless efforts of communities, governments and partners, our programs to fight TB have recovered around the world. The Global Fund partnership has been at the heart of this global recovery, and in 2022, we put on treatment more people with TB than ever before. Our 2023 Results Report is available here.
Equity is at the heart of the fight against TB. By working with local communities, civil society, governments, the private sector, and global health partners, and by drawing upon our market-shaping capacities, the Global Fund is committed to expanding access to lifesaving tools in low- and middle-income countries where the demand is most pressing. On 19 September 2023, the Global Fund, the Stop TB Partnership and USAID announced new collaboration with Danaher to reduce the price and increase access to Cepheid’s TB test cartridges. Five million additional tests can be procured with this lower price. These efforts contribute to ensuring more equitable access to quality-assured health products.
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