Back and Next - Back and NextUN boss on World TB Day
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
As the world observed World Tuberculosis Day yesterday, March 25, the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki Moon issued a statement welcoming the commitment of governments, multilateral organizations, non-governmental organizations, foundations and members of the corporate, academic and research communities working to halt and reverse the spread of the disease and stay on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
Below we reproduce the full text of the UN boss’ message;
The steps being taken around the world to stop tuberculosis (TB) are having an impact. Today, the epidemic is continuing its decline. But the rate of decline is far too slow, and TB still takes a life every 20 seconds. Millions of people are benefiting from treatment through coordinated national efforts, but millions more are still missing out. Unless we accelerate actions, the number of those falling ill will continue to grow.
Together, we need to help prevent infection, find all people who are ill far earlier and provide treatment for all. We have a Stop TB Strategy that can do this and a Global Plan to Stop TB that sets the course, but our efforts are falling short. We must redouble our efforts to fit multidrug-resistant (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR-TB) forms of TB. We must also continue to fight the TB/HIV co-epidemic.
I welcome the commitment of governments, multilateral organizations, non-governmental organizations, foundations and members of the corporate, academic and research communities working to halt and reverse the spread of the disease and stay on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
In this time of economic crisis, we must protect investments in global health, particularly to protect the most vulnerable. Goal cooperation infighting tuberculosis, and all the Millennium Development Goals, must be essential to our task ahead. As we look to the future, we need to build and expand our partnerships to deliver the solutions we know work today. We also need to innovate so we can prevent disease, save lives and enable communities to thrive.
Below we reproduce the full text of the UN boss’ message;
The steps being taken around the world to stop tuberculosis (TB) are having an impact. Today, the epidemic is continuing its decline. But the rate of decline is far too slow, and TB still takes a life every 20 seconds. Millions of people are benefiting from treatment through coordinated national efforts, but millions more are still missing out. Unless we accelerate actions, the number of those falling ill will continue to grow.
Together, we need to help prevent infection, find all people who are ill far earlier and provide treatment for all. We have a Stop TB Strategy that can do this and a Global Plan to Stop TB that sets the course, but our efforts are falling short. We must redouble our efforts to fit multidrug-resistant (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR-TB) forms of TB. We must also continue to fight the TB/HIV co-epidemic.
I welcome the commitment of governments, multilateral organizations, non-governmental organizations, foundations and members of the corporate, academic and research communities working to halt and reverse the spread of the disease and stay on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
In this time of economic crisis, we must protect investments in global health, particularly to protect the most vulnerable. Goal cooperation infighting tuberculosis, and all the Millennium Development Goals, must be essential to our task ahead. As we look to the future, we need to build and expand our partnerships to deliver the solutions we know work today. We also need to innovate so we can prevent disease, save lives and enable communities to thrive.
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