On the occasion of World Tuberculosis (TB) Day (March 24), the World Health Organisation’s representative in Vietnam has sent a letter to Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, Chairman of the National Committee on ending Tuberculosis, expressing their appreciation for the results in the prevention and control of tuberculosis in Vietnam over recent years.
WHO Representative to Vietnam Kidong Park took the occasion to invite Deputy PM Dam to participate in this year’s World TB Day global campaign.
World TB Day 2021, with its theme 'The Clock is Ticking', conveys the sense that the world is running out of time to act on commitments to end TB made by global leaders.
This is especially critical in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic which has put the End TB programme at risk, and in ensuring equitable access to prevention and care in line with the WHO's drive towards achieving Universal Health Coverage.
“The Clock Is Ticking” has a campaign toolkit and materials to be used to boost awareness and urge political action. The campaign aims to involve all of us and help make global outreach successful and ensure the efforts to end TB gets the attention they require.
The WHO is calling for action on several fronts to ensure that the commitments made to end TB are achieved.
According to the WHO, TB remains the world’s deadliest infectious killer. Each day, over 4,000 people lose their lives to TB and close to 30,000 people fall ill with this preventable and curable disease.
In 2015, world leaders committed to ending the global TB epidemic by 2030 and they reaffirmed their commitment to fighting the disease at the UN General Assembly’s High-level Meeting on Fight to End TB in 2018. It is expected to have around 40 million people worldwide provided with access to diagnosis and treatment by 2022.
Heads of State and Government committed to mobilise sufficient and sustainable financing from all sources for universal access to quality TB prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care. They aim to increase overall global investments for ending TB at least 13 billion USD annually by 2022.
