Voices from the Global Fight Against TB
Reflections on World TB Day: Voices from the Global Fight Against TB
Reflections on World TB Day
Each year, on March 24, we recognize World TB Day. This annual event commemorates the date in 1882 when Robert Koch announced his discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. World TB Day is also a time to educate the public and healthcare partners about the impact of TB around the world.
RePORT International is part of the effort to eliminate TB. But we still have a long way to go. We asked members of our network to reflect on where we are in the fight against TB and to share their thoughts on the role of RePORT International in TB prevention and care worldwide and in the fight to ENDTB.
Despite recent progress, immense challenges remain in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal of ending the TB epidemic by 2030. We still have a very long way to go to reach the END TB targets and there is a need for greater commitment across all stakeholders.
Global efforts at TB elimination, bank on India’s success in controlling TB. However, despite commendable efforts, India is likely to miss the ambitious target date set by the government for eliminating TB, which is just a year away. Challenges remain in all areas of TB management, namely prevention and treatment of infection, early and prompt diagnosis of all forms of TB, and shorter and more effective treatment to ensure complete cure.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further disrupted TB services in many regions. “We are struggling to recover from these setbacks,” noted Adhella Menur Naysilla from RePORT Indonesia. “We hope we can come back stronger.”
At the same time, the global TB community has made remarkable strides.” The development in rapid TB diagnostic testing and MDR-TB oral regimens is impressive,” Naysilla reflected. However, major gaps persist across the TB care cascade – from prevention to detection, diagnosis, and treatment completion. “It is crucial that we renew the essentials of TB preventive measures,” emphasized Deepa Shankar, RePORT India. This includes advancing new vaccines, biomarkers for latent TB infection, infection control measures, and prioritizing education and awareness.
There are new, shorter, easier, and better-tolerated medication regimens for both prevention and treatment of TB. There are also some promising new diagnostic assays for TB in development. Many of these new medications and diagnostics are too expensive and unavailable for patients who need them. The major challenge to achieving the END TB targets is to ensure that these new medications and diagnostics are accessible and affordable for communities and patients facing the greatest TB burden.
As the global TB community renews its commitment on World TB Day 2024, a spirit of optimism and determination shines through. I’m excited for the prospects for the future! Better diagnostics, treatments, vaccines, as well as reducing world poverty are all needed. From the latest scientific breakthroughs to robust advocacy and policies, all facets of the response must be accelerated to finally overcome TB. On this World TB Day, we reflect on the progress made and rededicate ourselves to the unfinished work ahead.
RePORT International plays a vital role in driving progress through its global research network and collaborative studies. “RePORT International is excellent to build a research network to promote multinational collaboration,” said one of our investigators from RePORT Korea, Taehyun Kim. As Evan Johnson, a US investigator noted, “RePORT will play an important role in generating samples and resources that will be larger sample size than other efforts.”
Sonali Sarkar believed that “RePORT International brings together some of the best TB researchers in the world known for their contributions to advances in vaccines and biomarker discovery and it is poised to conduct path-breaking TB research by fostering collaboration among high-burden countries with institutions having state-of-the-art laboratory facilities and the commitment to invest in TB research.”
By facilitating data sharing, exchange of expertise, and multi-country TB biomarker studies, RePORT supports a “whole-of-society approach where everybody works together,” a path that John C. Malabad from RePORT Philippines described as essential for achieving the END TB targets. Still, more work is needed to ensure research informed policies and interventions reach those most vulnerable to TB. “We need greater interaction with policymakers,” urged David Hom, from the RePORT International Coordination Center. Valeria Rolla, investigator from RePORT Brazil, called for “clearer prevention strategies including better standards of care and infection prevention.”
RePORT International addresses two of the current priorities in TB research: how to identify persons with TB who have no symptoms – a necessary first step in interrupting transmission to others – and determining the long-term consequences of TB such as cardiopulmonary and other sequelae. These will provide additional impetus to prevention measures. RePORT has the capacity to assess these issues across populations and continents.
RePORT International is at the forefront of helping the world reach its TB elimination targets and has the hope of brilliant investigators and staff engaged in the fight.
Contributed by Daphne Martin, Program Manager, TB RICC
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