The 2023 UN high-level meeting on tuberculosis: renewing hope, momentum, and commitment to end tuberculosis

Global efforts to end tuberculosis have saved an estimated 75 million lives this century. 1 WHOWorld Health Organization global tuberculosis report 2022. World Health Organization, Geneva2022https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/363752/9789240061729-eng.pdf?sequence=1Date accessed: October 13, 2023 Google Scholar The first UN General Assembly high-level meeting (HLM) on the fight against tuberculosis in 2018 was widely welcomed as a necessary reaffirmation of the commitments, defined in the WHO End TB Strategy and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, to end tuberculosis by 2030. 1 WHOWorld Health Organization global tuberculosis report 2022. World Health Organization, Geneva2022https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/363752/9789240061729-eng.pdf?sequence=1Date accessed: October 13, 2023 Google Scholar , 2 WHOWorld Health Organization global tuberculosis report 2021. World Health Organization, Geneva2021https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/346387/9789240037021-eng.pdf?sequence=1Date accessed: October 13, 2023 Google Scholar Despite this reaffirmation, only limited progress was made in tuberculosis prevention and care in the years following the 2018 HLM. Moreover, even this limited progress was decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which adversely affected access to tuberculosis services and financing, and intensified key social determinants of tuberculosis, including poverty and undernutrition. 3 WHOStatus update: reaching the targets in the political declaration of the United Nations General Assembly high-level meeting on the fight against tuberculosis. World Health Organization, GenevaSeptember 2023https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/un-high-level-meeting-on-tb/who-ucn-tb-2023.4.pdf?sfvrsn=170abaa4_3&download=true#:~:text=Funding%20for%20TB%20research%20ranged,US%242%20billion%20per%20yearDate accessed: October 13, 2023 Google Scholar , 4 UN General AssemblyComprehensive review of progress towards the achievement of global tuberculosis targets and implementation of the political declaration of the United Nations high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the fight against tuberculosis. Report of the Secretary General. https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/hq-tuberculosis/n2314184.pdf?sfvrsn=25b3467a_3&download=trueDate: May 18, 2023 Date accessed: October 13, 2023 Google Scholar In 2020, while scientific and health-care resources were ploughed into addressing COVID-19, it was estimated that 30 000 people developed tuberculosis disease and 4000 people died from tuberculosis every day. 2 WHOWorld Health Organization global tuberculosis report 2021. World Health Organization, Geneva2021https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/346387/9789240037021-eng.pdf?sequence=1Date accessed: October 13, 2023 Google Scholar Since then, tuberculosis has reclaimed from COVID-19 the unfortunate position of being the world's leading infectious killer, and drug-resistant tuberculosis has become a leading cause of death due to antimicrobial resistance. 5 Antimicrobial Resistance CollaboratorsGlobal burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis. Lancet. 2022; 399: 629-655 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (3177) Google Scholar