RESOLUTION OF THE WHO REGIONAL COMMITTEE FOR SOUTH-EAST ASIA SEA/RC70/R4
IMPLEMENTING AND MONITORING THE DELHI CALL FOR ACTION TO END TB IN THE WHO SOUTH-EAST ASIA REGION BY 2030 The Regional Committee, Recognizing that the WHO South-East Asia Region continues to have the highest burden of tuberculosis (TB) cases in the world, with more than 4.7 million new TB cases emerging in the Region in 2015 that accounted for over 46% of the global burden, out of which 227 000 cases were HIV-positive, Considering that the estimated incidence of multidrug-resistant and rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/RR-TB) in the Region was 200 000 with extensively drug-resistant TB being reported by six countries in the Region by 2015, Noting that TB disrupts social and economic progress in countries, stigmatizing individuals and reducing household and national incomes, and traps the poorest and most vulnerable in a vicious cycle of disease and poverty, Recognizing that an effective fast-track plan for ending TB will significantly contribute to improve health as well as social and economic development in South-East Asia, Acknowledging the need to improve the scope, extent and reach of TB services in line with the End TB Strategy and the commitment to support the Global Plan and Regional Plan 2016–2020, and national multiyear plans to end TB, in order to achieve the TB targets set under the Sustainable Development Goals, Noting further the need for increased investment in accelerated implementation of strategies and adaptation of innovations at the country level as well as in the research and development of new tools for tuberculosis care and prevention that are essential for the elimination of tuberculosis,
Acknowledging that progress in tuberculosis control requires action within and beyond the health sector in order to address the social and economic determinants of disease, including expansion of social protection and overall poverty reduction, Recognizing the leadership provided by the Regional Director of the WHO South-East Asia Region in convening the first Ministerial Meeting towards Ending TB in the Region in March 2017 and subsequent issuance of the Delhi Call for Action to End TB in the WHO South-East Asia Region that reaffirms the highest level of commitment by Member States, Considering that with the existing interventions, Member States would not be able to reach the End TB targets and that “Bending the Curve” offered a path to accelerate reaching the goals in time – this approach having been embraced in the Delhi Call for Action to End TB in the WHO South-East Asia Region – and that the task at hand now is to make these approaches operational to accelerate the progress towards End TB goals, 1. URGES Member States to: (a) Review the current national plans to align them with the Delhi Call for Action to End TB in the South-East Asia Region by 2030 and strengthen the national programmes for its full implementation, and (b) Jointly develop regional and multicountry efforts in sharing innovation, best practices, commodities and a joint approach to address the challenges of TB prevention, treatment and control, including in vulnerable populations; and 2. REQUESTS the Regional Director to: (a) Support Member States to strengthen the national and regional plans and implement the “Delhi Call for Action to End TB in the South-East Asia Region by 2030”, and (b) Engage with policy- and decision-makers at the highest levels in the Member States to accelerate the implementation of the Delhi Call for Action.
Seventh session, 10 September 2017