The executive director of UNAIDS, Winnie Byanyima says that despite being curable and preventable, TB is the leading cause of death among people living with HIV.
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As the world marks World Tuberculosis Day today, March 24, opportunities to further integrate TB and HIV services, particularly in the initiation and management of antiretroviral therapy as well as TB preventive and curative treatment are becoming slimmer.
This is evidenced by the recent situation characterized by funding cuts from major donors, which have disrupted TB/HIV services, including health workers’ layoffs, drug shortages and broken supply chains, and if this is not addressed urgently, they are likely to lead to TB resurgence.
The executive director of UNAIDS, Winnie Byanyima says that despite being curable and preventable, TB is the leading cause of death among people living with HIV.
Byanyima through her message to the rest of the world today, she said: “Ending HIV and TB is not merely a health goal, it is a fight for justice, dignity and a healthier and fairer world for all. When we unite, invest and act with purpose, we save lives.”
A press statement on World Tuberculosis Day indicates that TB and HIV are intricately linked, and they present profound challenges for global health. It further indicates that in 2023, 1.25 million people lost their lives to TB, including 161,000 people living with HIV. As the leading life threatening comorbidity of HIV infection, TB accounted for nearly one third of all deaths among people living with HIV in 2023.
Despite the progress made in the TB and HIV responses, antiretroviral treatment coverage for people with HIV/TB co-infection was only at 58% in 2023. Between 2005 and the end of 2023, 19 million people living with HIV were initiated on tuberculosis preventive treatment.
“These numbers are not just statistics but represent real lives, especially those of the most marginalized people who face the compounding impacts of poverty, discrimination and social inequality,” the statement further reads.
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It adds that UNAIDS is advancing the targets set at the 2023 UN High-Level Meeting on TB, where global leaders committed to addressing these issues, and that UNAIDS is working to incorporate these targets into the next Global AIDS Strategy, advocating for the global community to commit to ensuring that 90% of people living with HIV access HIV and TB testing and treatment services as needed, and that 95% of people living with HIV receive preventive TB therapy.
On World Tuberculosis Day and in this critical moment, UNAIDS urges the donor community to maintain their support for the global TB and HIV response. This is not just an act of international solidarity, but also an investment in the health and well-being of people everywhere, including in donor countries.
UNAIDS further calls on national leaders to re-double their commitment to increase domestic investment in health and ensure that health services are integrated, people-centered, rights-based, and sustainable.
Ending HIV and TB is not merely a health goal – it is a fight for justice, dignity, and a healthier and fairer world for all. When we unite, invest, and act with purpose, we save lives.
ABOUT UNAIDS:
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.