WORLD TB DAY 2004

Each year, nearly two million people die of TB, despite the existence of inexpensive and highly effective treatments. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis is at the forefront of the battle against TB with the Stop TB Partnership, countries’ National TB Programs and other partners around the world.

To date, the Global Fund has committed nearly US$ 1 billion worldwide over five years to TB and HIV/TB programs, including grants to 19 of the 22 countries that account for 80 percent of the world’s TB burden (see a listing of all our funded TB Programs).

DOTS, the internationally approved treatment strategy for TB, is the most effective means of administering treatment, curing patients, reducing transmission and preventing the development of drug resistance. All Global Fund TB grants support existing DOTS programs or DOTS expansion, and many include DOTS Plus to treat drug-resistant strains of the disease.

Global Fund-financed programs will treat 3 million additional infectious TB cases and triple treatment of multidrug-resistant TB globally with DOTS Plus.

TB is the most common infection among – and the leading killer of – people living with HIV/AIDS. HIV/TB co-infection has caused TB rates to soar in many countries, and the dangers posed by this spread are compounded by the appearance of drug-resistant strains. Like HIV, TB can be prevented and treated; unlike HIV, it can also be cured. Yet in sub-Saharan Africa, as many as 70 percent of people with HIV lack access to DOTS.

• Visit the WorldTBDay2004 website
  
  
• Visit the Stop TB Partnership's website
  
  
• See a listing of all our funded TB Programs
  
  
• Read a WHO press release:
  "WHO sees surge in progress against tuberculosis on eve of global summit"
  
  
• The 8th WHO annual report on global TB control.
  
  
• Read more about the global tuberculosis epidemic
  
  
• More TB Links & Resources
  
  
• Search Google for news articles on tuberculosis