Honourable Ministers, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, dear colleagues and friends,
I thank the Russian Federation, Brazil, China, Cuba, Indonesia and South Africa and for organizing this important discussion during the World Health Assembly.
Every day, almost 3500 people lose their lives to tuberculosis, and nearly 30 000 people fall ill with this preventable and curable disease.
Beyond the death and disease it causes, TB inflicts severe social and economic consequences.
This is a crucial period. Even as we must strive to meet the commitments from the second United Nations High Level Meeting on TB, we have entered a new period of scarcity.
The current financial and aid landscape is having significant impacts in many areas, including TB.
27 countries in Africa and Asia are now facing shortages and disruptions, affecting diagnosis, treatment and other services.
Nine countries have reported failing procurement and supply chains for TB drugs, jeopardizing the lives of people with TB.
These disruptions put at risk the huge gains we have made together over the past 20 years, saving an estimated 79 million lives from TB.
Even before the current cuts, global TB efforts were falling behind, with severe shortfalls in funding for prevention, care and research.
But we cannot give up on the concrete commitments that world leaders made at the UN General Assembly just 18 months ago.
WHO is committed to working with donors, partners and affected countries to mitigate the impact of funding cuts, find innovative solutions, and mobilize the political and financial commitments needed to End TB.
Let me highlight four priorities as we move forward together:
First, we must hold leaders to the commitments they have made, and the concrete, measurable targets they have set.
Second, we must mobilize strategic investment to expand access to TB care and advance research.
Third, we must rapidly accelerate the adoption of WHO-recommended interventions and advance research and innovation.
WHO is leading efforts to accelerate TB vaccine development through the TB Vaccine Accelerator Council, but progress remains at risk without urgent financial commitments.
And fourth, we must mount a coordinated, multisectoral response to address the key drivers of TB: poverty, inequity, undernutrition, comorbidities, stigma, and discrimination.
Thank you for your commitment towards a world free of TB.
I thank you.