KNCV highly welcomes the news that the United Nations General Assembly has agreed to hold a High-Level Meeting (HLM) on Tuberculosis in 2018. A resolution to this extend was endorsed by member states at UN headquarters in New York on December 15.
“This meeting has the potential to mark the beginning of true political commitment to eliminate a treatable disease that still kills 1.8 million people annually.”
Kitty van Weezenbeek, KNCV Executive Director
“The high-level meeting on tuberculosis will heighten awareness of the social and economic devastation caused by this age-old disease and the need for urgent global attention to eliminate TB as a public health threat by 2035” said Dr. Motsoaledi. As Chair of the Stop TB Partnership Board and Minister of Health of South Africa he launched the campaign that preceded the resolution. KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation is one of the founders of the Stop TB Partnership, which now links over 1.500 partners transforming the fight against TB in more than 100 countries.
A High-Level Meeting is a special session of the United Nations General Assembly convened by governments on issues of global political importance. Previous HLMs have resulted in action orientated UN political declarations endorsed by Heads of State, which have formed the basis for accelerated national efforts. The HLM on TB will be the fifth time in history UN member states have convened a High-Level Meeting devoted to a health issue, following previous meetings on HIV/AIDS (2001), Non-communicable diseases (2011), Ebola (2014) and Antimicrobial Resistance (2015).