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[Opinion] Working Together to Rid the World of TB

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[Opinion] Working Together to Rid the World of TB

[Opinion] Working Together to Rid the World of TB

Kathleen Stephens
U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea
March 24, 2009

The English version of this article appeared in Internet Hankyoreh Shinmun on March 24, 2009 and is reproduced here with the newspaper's permission. The article appeared in Hankyoreh Shinmun (in Korean) on March 24, 2009.
Almost a century ago, America was locked in a battle against tuberculosis (TB), which killed thousands annually and was one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Today, even though a cure for drug-sensitive TB has existed for more than 50 years, TB remains second only to HIV among infectious killers worldwide. It is a disease that hits the poorest and most vulnerable groups, especially women and children. This is why the World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes a day each year, World Tuberculosis Day on March 24th, to call attention to the disease and to mobilize action to combat it.

One-third of the world’s population is infected with dormant TB. Approximately 9.2 million people develop the active form of the disease each year. TB spreads through the air from the coughing and sneezing of a person who has the active form of the disease.  About 1.7 million people die annually of TB.

The American people are making major investments to prevent and control TB in countries around the world where the burden of the disease is highest.  Through our active engagement in the STOP TB Partnership, we are a key partner to intense global efforts to achieve the Partnership’s Global Plan targets to halve TB prevalence and deaths by 2015 relative to 1990 levels. Achieving this goal could save 14 million lives, not to mention the economic benefits for nations.

There is good news to share.  According to The 2009 Global Tuberculosis Control Report, released today by the WHO, TB prevalence and death rates are falling globally, while detection of new cases of TB and access to high-quality anti-TB treatments are on the rise.  Three of six regions in the world (Americas, Eastern Mediterranean and South-East Asia) are on track to achieve the Global Plan’s 2015 targets, and the Western Pacific Region is making strong strides toward the goal.

However, much work remains to be done.  New strains of Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (XDR-TB) are a growing peril to human health worldwide and threaten to undermine years of progress in TB control.

Koreans and Americans have been working together for many years to combat tuberculosis.  In the 1960s and 1970s, American Peace Corps volunteers worked in rural health clinics alongside their Korean co-workers to extend TB treatment into the Korean countryside.  Today,  American scientists from the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) work  closely with Korean researchers at the ROK-U.S. jointly funded International Tuberculosis Research Institute (ITRC) at the National Masan Tuberculosis Hospital.   And, very recently, collaboration between the ITRC, NIH, and researchers at Yeshiva University in New York has resulted in the first new class of compounds in forty years that could potentially be approved for the treatment of TB.  This promising new approach will be discussed in an upcoming issue of Science Magazine.   The ITRC is truly a center of excellence where the scientists and researchers of both of our countries can combine their expertise and dedication to confront a problem of global concern.  It is a good example of how the U.S.-Korea alliance is broadening and deepening into a global strategic partnership with the potential to make a positive impact on  people’s lives not only on the Korean peninsula, but throughout the world. 

The United States remains fully committed to working with all of our partners to renew the charge against TB.  The American people have donated $3.3 billion to the Global Fund (GF) since 2002.  Almost $1.71 billion has been approved by the GF for phase 1 and 2 TB grants in 91 countries.  Global Fund investments have provided 3.9 million people with treatment for tuberculosis.

The United States is the largest single-country bilateral donor for TB, and since 1998 it has provided more than $777 million to global TB control programs. The United States is a leading donor to the Global TB Drug Facility to expand access to, and availability of, high-quality anti-TB drugs, providing nearly $15 million in 2008.  More than 450,000 patients will benefit from this life-saving assistance from the American people.

On World Tuberculosis Day, the United States renews its pledge to work with countries and the international community to successfully implement the Global Plan to Stop TB.  The lives of millions of people across the globe depend on true international cooperation.