"When a virus (HIV) and a bacteria (TB) can work so well together - why cannot we?" had said Michel Sidibe in 2009. Michel Sidibe was UNAIDS Executive Director back then and speaking to CNS (Citizen News Service) at the Stop TB Partnership's Partners Forum in March 2009 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Despite knowing how to protect people with HIV from TB, 167000 people who were living with HIV died of TB in 2022 globally. HIV continues to be the 2nd biggest risk factor for TB worldwide (undernutrition is the largest risk factor globally). Almost a million new TB cases were attributed to HIV as a risk factor (out of 10.6 million people) in 2022 worldwide.
"TB remains the leading cause of death for people living with HIV globally. In 2021, almost one-third of AIDS-related deaths were due to TB. Yet we dare to imagine a world where we find all TB, treat all TB, and prevent all TB among people living with HIV and others in the community," said Eamonn Murphy of UNAIDS.
Eamonn Murphy calls for integration and inclusion
UNAIDS regional leader Eamonn Murphy said that TB and HIV collaborative activities have shone a spotlight on the value of 'breaking out of the silos' to tackle both diseases in a coordinated manner. Globally steepest reduction in TB deaths has been among people living with HIV.
"Our best successes have been in countries and communities where they have brought these silos together. 13 million TB deaths were averted among HIV positive people between 2000 and 2021. We have seen a 67% drop in TB-related deaths among people living with HIV since 2010 globally. We are within reach of the 80% decline target for TB-related deaths among people living with HIV by 2025," he said.
"Perhaps our target was not as ambitious as it could have been, but we still have a long way to go to make sure we can achieve that and there are many other targets and competing demands in the current environment that are challenging us" he shared.
Progress against TB and HIV has plateaued
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