Stop TB Canada Newsletter

October 2022

What can Canada do to meet TB elimination commitments?

We are less than a year away from the next United Nations High-Level Meeting (HLM) on Tuberculosis, scheduled for September 2023, where progress towards commitments made at the 2018 HLM will be measured. Based on the latest available data, including the WHO TB Report, progress towards meeting these targets is falling short.

High-level meetings must lead to action and accountability at all levels. Join us in calling on Canada to follow through on its commitments to TB elimination through the actions below:

Help inform the Stop TB Partnership’s Deadly Divide Report

Since 2018, people affected by TB and TB communities have played a pivotal role in monitoring the implementation of the Political Declaration. In 2020 civil society and community leaders released the report ‘A Deadly Divide: TB Commitments versus TB Realities', which outlines the urgent need for a TB response that is equitable, community-led, right-based, and people-centered.

Two years later, a second Deadly Divide report is being developed and we need your help. Fill out this survey to share your perspectives regarding Canada’s TB elimination efforts and what must be done to scale up the TB response.

Fill out the survey

Share Stop TB Canada’s recommendations to the Federal pre-budget submission

Stop TB Canada recently submitted several recommendations to the Federal pre-budget submission, providing key insights on how Canada can step up as a key player in TB elimination. Investing in TB research, development, and programming, as well as following through with the government’s commitment to increase international development assistance would enable Canada to step up its TB elimination efforts.

Read our full submission for the pre-budget consultation here.

Share our recommendations

Ending TB in Canada will depend on improving access to essential medicine

Access to medicine is a critical component to providing the quality care necessary to control the TB epidemic in Canada, yet essential medicines like Rifapentine remain largely unavailable to those affected by TB in this country.

Stop TB Canada recently wrote to Sanofi, with an urgent request to apply for regulatory approval of Rifapentine in Canada. Rifapentine is on the WHO’s Model List of Essential Medicines and referenced in the Canadian TB Standards (8th Edition), highlighting its role in TB prevention and care. Despite being a valuable tool, Canadians have been denied access to this drug because Sanofi has made a business decision to not bring it to the Canadian market.

Tell Sanofi why it’s important to value people over profit, and bring Rifapentine to the Canadian market, through the click-to-tweet below:

👋@Sanofi, we are calling on you to respond to our urgent request of applying for approval of rifapentine in Canada- it is on the @WHO essential medicines list.

Your business decisions are perpetuating barriers to #TB treatment and elimination.

Publication spotlight

WHO 2022 Tuberculosis Report

The WHO published its 2022 Tuberculosis Report highlighting some success stories, such as some high-burden countries making a considerable recovery last year from the significant reductions seen in 2020, however, we are still falling far behind most End TB and UNHLM targets on TB treatment, prevention, and funding- the WHO outlines several urgent calls to action. Read the report here.

Treatment Action Group 2022 Pipeline Report

Treatment Action Group recently published its 2022 Pipeline Report, which provides an overview of research and development of innovations for diagnosing, preventing, treating, and curing HIV, hepatitis C virus, and tuberculosis. Read the report here.

TB is surging again - can lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic help?

This podcast episode by The Economist’s Babbage explores why the pandemic shattered global efforts to control tuberculosis and asks whether innovations from the COVID era could turn the tide against the disease. Listen here.

Key Dates

November 8-11, 2022: Union World Conference on Lung Health

November 18-24, 2022: World Antimicrobial Awareness Week

November 21-23, 2022: Canadian Conference on Global Health

Follow us at TBPeople Canada!

TBpeople is a global network of people affected by TB on a mission to unite people and defeat TB. Follow along and join us in building this network in Canada:

Are you or have you been affected by TB? Please consider joining TBpeople Canada to connect with others who have been impacted by TB, and share stories, resources and support with your peers. To learn more about this network, visit our website at https://www.stoptbcanada.com/tbpeoplecanada.

Do you work closely with TB clinics and/or those affected by TB? Click to download and print the flyer on our website and share it in your clinic.

Remain connected by joining our directory

Join our directory of TB researchers, practitioners, advocates and survivors based in Canada to connect with colleagues and engage in our advocacy!

Join the directory by completing this short form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdq1aT8U0Lfj66TqvDV_7yP0vC38i3AABfwWBcd8T-9_p5yBA/viewform

Thank you!

This newsletter is supported by resources donated by Results Canada, the McGill International TB Center, TB in Focus and ZMQ Development.