WMA 3.9 Preparation for high-level meeting of the GA TB_final
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THE WORLD MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, INC.
L’ASSOCIATION MEDICALE MONDIALE, INC
ASOCIACION MEDICA MUNDIAL, INC
Centre International de Bureaux FEIN : 13-2566243
Immeuble A “Keynes” Website : www.wma.net Postal Address :
13, chemin du Levant Telephone : (33) 4 50 40 75 75 Boîte Postale 63
01210 FERNEY-VOLTAIRE Fax : (33) 4 50 40 59 37 01210 FERNEY-VOLTAIRE Cedex
France E-mail address : wma@wma.net France
22 January 2018
142nd
WHO Executive Board Meeting , item 3.9 Preparation for the high-level meeting of the
General Assembly on ending tuberculosis
Honorable Chairperson, Distinguished Delegates,
Thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the World Medical Association, which
represents 9 million physicians around the world in more than 110 countries.
The WMA welcomes the Report of the Director General. We appreciate WHO’s leadership and
efforts towards Tuberculosis (Tb) control.
We take this opportunity to reiterate the following:
– In order to reduce the burden of Tb a holistic, multi-sectoral approach including the social
determinants of health is necessary, which focus as well on reducing the spread of TB.
-Though tuberculosis has traditionally affected patients with HIV/AIDS, those from lower socio-
economic demographic, prisoners and migrants, today Tb is a significant threat to patients with
cancers, organ transplants and those receiving immunologic therapies for various diseases.
-We also reiterate the call on member states to ensure that health professionals have access to
adequate Personal Protective Equipment and are well trained while caring for patients with active
tuberculosis.
-The WMA would like to call on all member states to increase investments in efforts to contain and
control, curb resistance, as well as research, namely the development of new anti-TB agents.
Additionally, an adequate public health infrastructure is crucial to any intervention.
-A comprehensive integrated approach to Tb drug resistance should use the momentum and
infrastructure being put in place in the broader agenda of antimicrobial resistance.
The WMA has worked with WHO in the past on capacity building for health professional around
the world through developing a free of charge online training in TB and MDR-TB and organizing
regional workshops on infection control. We would like to extend our expertise and network to
assist in further efforts towards ending Tb.
Thank you for your kind attention,