Resolve to fight TB must be strengthened in U.S. global AIDS blueprint

Nov 3 2012

As part of its "Blueprint" series discussing the creation of a U.S. global AIDS blueprint called for by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in July, the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog features an opinion piece by Salmaan Keshavjee of Harvard Medical School and Partners In Health. With an estimated 1,000 people with HIV dying of tuberculosis (TB) every day, "[i]t is clear that our current approaches to addressing the global tuberculosis pandemic are inadequate," he writes. Keshavjee says, "First, bold targets for reducing tuberculosis incidence and zero TB-HIV deaths must be prioritized in the blueprint. ... Second, known strategies for stopping the spread of tuberculosis have to be actively implemented. ... Lastly, any effective strategy has to ensure that HIV advocates at the community level are educated about the threat of tuberculosis," and he describes each of his points in detail. He concludes, "The United States has shown visionary leadership in the area of HIV treatment and changed the lives of countless people for the better. It is time to take on tuberculosis with the same moral and pragmatic vigor" (Barton, 10/31).