Report of the first meeting of the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for TB in the WHO South-East Asia Region

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health challenge in the South-East Asia (SEA) Region of WHO. Over 43% of the global TB incidence and half of the TB associated mortality is from the SEA Region. Six of 11 countries in the Region are on the high TB-burden country list.

The unprecedented political momentum gained for the global fight against TB provides a unique opportunity to translate policies into practice. Regional commitments towards ending TB were made through the Delhi Call for Action during the SEA Regional Ministerial Meeting held in 2017 and followed up at the Delhi End-TB Summit in 2018. Globally, the Moscow Declaration 2017, which emphasized the need for a multisectoral response and accountability framework, followed by the first ever UN high-level meeting on TB in 2018 added further strength to the commitments and responses to end TB. WHO SEA Region has been in the forefront of advocacy to mobilize and drive national commitment on TB. The Regional Director has also declared TB as a flagship priority for the Region.