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| Eleanor Frame |
A group of international cancer organizations today launched a new initiative to encourage governments to increase taxes on tobacco. Tobacco causes 20 percent of all cancer deaths and more than 4,000 people die from tobacco-related cancer each day. 
Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) remains a public health crisis. As per WHO’s Global TB Report 2016, 480,000 people fell ill with MDR-TB in 2015, with 3 countries - India, China, and Russia - carrying the major burden and together accounting for nearly half of all MDR-TB cases globally. 
Final results of a potentially game-changing study on a nine-months treatment regimen for multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) were announced at the 47th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Liverpool, UK. This study carried out in nine Francophone countries has shown a treatment success rate of 82% with limited adverse side effects - a significant stride towards stopping TB.
[Watch this video interview] [Listen or download this audio podcast]
[First published in India Saga on 20th October 2016] 
“Time is of essence in my job and I am conscious of it,” said Jason, who strives to see TB infection rates go down. Jaison Tarovedzera is a dedicated member of the Riders for Health team in Harare under the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) Zimbabwe. In an exclusive interview, Jaison told me that he rides to save lives and will ride until he is satisfied that the rate of new TB infections is minimal. I told Jaison that the initiative is to End TB by 2030, to which he
replied, “Ending TB once for all would be ideal. However, for now I am
focusing on lowering the rates of TB infection in the communities. No
one must die of TB and that is why I ride with dedication”.
[First published in The India Saga]
Cardio vascular diseases (CVDs) are one of the major chronic ailments that have strongly impacted today’s generation, along with other non communicable diseases (NCDs) like cancer, hypertension and diabetes. Notably, in over 80% of the cases, the diseases are lifestyle related. Small changes in lifestyle practices and choices could effectively minimize risk factors. 
WHO's latest Global Tuberculosis Report reveals some shocking statistics: Tuberculosis (TB) deaths jumped to 1.8 million in 2015 from 1.5 million in 2014, with 41% of people estimated to have fallen sick with the disease being left undiagnosed and untreated. The treatment gap for people with drug-resistant TB remains morbidly high – in 2015, just 20% of people sick with drug-resistant forms of TB received the treatment they needed. The WHO Global TB Report is a wake-up call to break the status quo in how TB, and its drug-resistant forms, are being diagnosed and treated. 
[Watch webinar recording] [Listen or download the audio podcast] We welcome you to register for an exclusive media webinar where experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) Global TB Programme and International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) will share scientific highlights of the forthcoming 47th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Liverpool, UK.
The joint United Nations programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) is mobilizing governments and other partners to achieve new set of targets, referred to as, '90-90-90 by 2020', but with current set of tools, approaches, funding commitments, and challenge that HIV poses to the world, the goal seems certainly a bold and ambitious one. '90-90-90 by 2020' targets include increasing to 90% the proportion of
people living with HIV who know their diagnosis, increasing to 90% the
proportion of people living with HIV (PLHIV) receiving antiretroviral
treatment (ART) and increasing to 90% the proportion of people on HIV
treatment who have an undetectable viral load.
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| Dr Immaculate Kathure, Child TB Services Coordinator, Kenya National TB Programme |
