• The World Health Organisation (WHO) South-East Asia Region committed to further accelerate efforts to end tuberculosis by 2030 with member countries adopting the Gandhinagar Declaration.
  • The region bears a disproportionate burden of nearly half of the global TB cases and deaths.
• The Gandhinagar Declaration was adopted to follow-up on the progress made to end TB, a flagship priority in the Region, and in the run up to the UN High Level Meeting (UNHLM) on TB on 22 September in New York.
• The Declaration calls for establishing high-level multisectoral commission reporting to the highest political level in each country for synergy of efforts among various stakeholders, and to monitor progress towards ending TB and other priority diseases.
• The declaration calls for ensuring appropriate adoption and use of science and technology for equitable and human rights-based TB services that are accessible to all, irrespective of any social, cultural, or demographic divide, through an integrated, primary health care approach.
• It calls upon all partners to enhance their support to end TB and priority diseases in the Region as per the UN Sustainable Development Goals target 3.3 – End the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases, and other communicable diseases.

ABOUT TUBERCULOSIS

• TB is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis, belonging to the Mycobacteriaceae family consisting of about 200 members.
• In humans, TB most commonly affects the lungs (pulmonary TB), but it can also affect other organs (extra-pulmonary TB).
• TB is an ancient disease and documented in Egypt as early as 3000 BC.
• TB is a curable disease.
• It can spread from person to person through air.
• Symptoms include cough with sputum and blood at times, chest pains, weakness, weight loss, fever and night sweats.