title: Taking forward the World TB Day 2016 theme 'Unite to End Tuberculosis' for the WHO Africa Region.
abstract: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global emergency, with an estimated 9.6 million new TB cases worldwide reported in 2014. Twenty-eight percent of these cases were in the World Health Organization (WHO) Africa Region, where the annual case detection rate was 281 per 100000 population-more than double the global average of 133 per 100000. Of the 9.6 million people who developed TB, an estimated 1.2 million (12%) were HIV-positive, and the Africa Region accounted for 74% of these cases. Three million people with TB remain undiagnosed and untreated. Globally, an estimated 480000 had multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). Whilst of the African countries, only South Africa has reported a high prevalence of MDR-TB, it is likely that all of Sub-Saharan Africa has an unreported high load of drug-resistant TB. Tragically, in 2014, only 48% of individuals diagnosed with MDR-TB had successful treatment and an estimated 190000 people died of MDR-TB. Of the global TB funding gap of US$ 0.8 billion, the largest funding gap was in the Africa Region, amounting to US$ 0.4 billion in 2015. The MDR-TB pandemic in particular now threatens to devastate entire regions and may fundamentally alter the life-expectancy and demographic profile of many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The theme designated for this year's World TB Day, March 24, 2016, is 'Unite to End TB'. From the Africa Region, there is an urgent need to seriously address the political, economic, and social factors that influence host-Mycobacterium tuberculosis interactions and result in disease. Recent political and funder initiatives that provide renewed hope for the alleviation of Africa's TB and TB/HIV problems are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Fondation Congolaise pour la Recherche Médicale, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo; Institute for Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. Electronic address: fntoumi@fcrm-congo.com.
authors.forename: Francine
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ntoumi
authors.affiliation: Uganda Virus Research Institute Research Unit on AIDS, Entebbe, Uganda.
authors.forename: Pontiano
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kaleebu
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigação em Saude de Manhiça, and National Directare of Public Health, Ministry of Health, Maputo, Mozambique.
authors.forename: Eusebio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Macete
authors.affiliation: Muhimbili Medical Research Centre, National Institute for Medical Research, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
authors.forename: Sayoki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mfinanga
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Dermatology and Psychiatry, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Jeremiah
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chakaya
authors.affiliation: Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Accra, Ghana.
authors.forename: Dorothy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yeboah-Manu
authors.affiliation: UNZA-UCLMS Research and Training Project, University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bates
authors.affiliation: UNZA-UCLMS Research and Training Project, University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia; Ministry of Health, Lusaka, Zambia.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mwaba
authors.affiliation: Division of Therapeutic Immunology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, and Centre for Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maeurer
authors.affiliation: University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark; The Royal Hospital, Muscat, Oman.
authors.forename: Eskild
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Petersen
authors.affiliation: UNZA-UCLMS Research and Training Project, University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia; Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, and NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, UCL Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
authors.forename: Alimuddin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zumla
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D060740:Disease Eradication; D014943:Global Health; D006679:HIV Seropositivity; D006801:Humans; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D015995:Prevalence; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D018088:Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D014944:World Health Organization
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents
keywords: Advocacy; EDCTP; Multidrug-resistant TB; Treatment; Tuberculosis; Unite; World TB Day