Human rights are imperative to the success of the TB response
Advocates highlight in a letter, addressed to the leadership of the United Nations High-Level Meeting on TB, key human rights commitments.
More than 200 people affected by TB, members of affected communities, civil society organizations, health professionals, human rights lawyers and activists around the world have signed a letter addressed to the leadership of the United Nations High-Level Meeting on TB (TB HLM), highlighting the 12 key human rights commitments that if made at the TB HLM and then faithfully implemented, would enable the end of TB.
In 2015, TB affected 10.4 million people around the world and killed 1.8 million people, making it the most lethal infectious disease in the world, surpassing even HIV. In view of this alarming problem, in December 2016 the United Nations took a historic step in the fight against the disease and agreed to hold the first High-level Meeting on TB in 2018, with the intention of agreeing on policies and joining forces to reach the end of the pandemic.
The meeting, which will take place on September 26 in New York, will have the highest level of participation from different nations around the world, in order to approve a concise and action-oriented political declaration. The resultant political statement has the power to change the course of the response to TB and will mark the plan of action in the fight against the disease for years to come.
The full letter can be downloaded here.
