Following our blogpost yesterday you may well have been aware that yesterday was World TB Day. Leading media outlets in the UK certainly took note and here we provide a round-up of what some of them have been saying about the growing threat of TB both domestically and globally.
Friday saw some fantastic coverage in the Financial Times with a four-page health supplement entirely dedicated to TB. Articles covered topics ranging from the fight against HIV/TB co-infection, the problems surrounding TB in children and the need for funding for vaccine research.
The lead article states ‘Tuberculosis has failed to capture imaginations in the same way as HIV’ and, as a result, there has been a serious lack of financial commitments in fighting the second biggest infectious killer after AIDS. The article also highlights the vital role played by The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria and the urgent need for renewed funding commitments from donors.
The BBC made note of the call from an international group of doctors and scientists for visionary leadership if we are to tackle TB effectively. Reporting on an article in The Lancet, the article highlights the growing problem of drug resistant TB strains largely as a consequence of complacent and neglectful governments worldwide.
It is so important that there is a complete shift in our thinking, particularly at a political level, about TB in order to ensure that we make significant strides in tackling TB and saving millions of lives. Along with this piece featured on the BBC, The Lancet has also published a Series of papers on TB to commemorate World TB Day 2013 that are well worth a read.
There was an informative piece in The Independent warning of the rise in the number of drug-resistant TB cases in the UK. The article notes that if the rise in TB continues at its current rate then by 2015 Britain will have more new cases each year than in the whole of the US. Somewhat encouraging is the fact that a government task force will be set up to tackle the problem. Dr Paul Cosford, director for health protection at Public Health England, has also said “TB will be a major priority for Public Health England”.
Finally, our friends at ACTION have also put together this great blog outlining a selection of stories and events leading up to World TB Day yesterday. To take a look at ‘the drumbeat to World TB Day’ just click here.
In response to the 29th Anniversary of World TB Day, an international day of advocacy and action against tuberculosis, members of RESULTS’ staff and grassroots activists went to Parliament to lobby their constituency MPs. Thokozile Phiri Nkhoma, a TB advocate from Malawi, was also present to speak about the challenges of tackling TB. The aim of the day was to bring the message to our representatives that TB is not a disease of the past and that DfID must integrate the work it is doing on TB with its HIV programmes and create a ‘framework for results’ for TB/HIV.
Our guest speaker on the call was Joel Spicer, senior strategist at the 
