The Trump administration recently slashed foreign aid, cutting off lifesaving access to medication and support for hundreds of thousands of people who are fighting tuberculosis (TB)—the world’s most deadly infectious disease. These harmful actions sparked outrage and disbelief among the global community of clinicians, advocates, researchers, and survivors who know firsthand the dire consequences, specifically to vulnerable populations around the world.

For World TB Day, Partners In Health has invited leading TB experts, authors, and thought leaders to shed light on what these cruel actions mean for patients and the centuries-long fight against TB, and to discuss the hope and power that remain through the coordinated actions of activists and allies.

Speakers: Moderated by Dr. Madhukar Pai, PIH trustee and TB expert, and featuring Handaa Enkh-Amgalan, author and public speaker; John Green, PIH trustee and author; Vidya Krishnan, author and investigative journalist; Dr. Melino Ndayizigiye, executive director of PIH Lesotho and infectious disease expert; and Maria Smilios, author and adjunct lecturer.

Register here: https://act.pih.org/worldtbday2025

UHN’s West Park Healthcare Centre has a 120-year history of providing exemplary care to tuberculosis patients. Founded in 1904 as a TB sanitorium, today West Park is the province’s designated centre for treating resistant tuberculosis and mycobacterial infections, while leading national efforts in rehabilitation.

On World TB Day 2025, West Park and Toronto Public Health invite clinicians in the TB field and public health agencies to attend their conference: “TB Horizons: Advancing Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention.”

Date & Time: Monday, March 24, 2025. 8:30 am – 4:15 pm

Location: West Park Healthcare Centre – 170 Emmett Ave, Toronto M6M 2J5

Ticket price: $75. Morning coffee/tea, snacks, and lunch are included.

Registration closes on Monday, March 17 at 8:00 am.

Buy your tickets here

View the agenda here

View the speaker bios, presentation titles and objectives here

Stop TB Canada’s latest report, Access to Essential Tuberculosis Medicines in Canada, reveals alarming gaps in access to essential tuberculosis (TB) medicines across the country, raising urgent concerns about Canada’s capacity to effectively combat this preventable and treatable disease.

In recognition of World TB Day, this webinar will spotlight the transformative new TB treatments developed over the past two decades, the persistent challenges in accessing these medicines in Canada, and what can be done to mitigate these barriers. We will delve into the report’s findings and Stop TB Canada’s recommendations to remove obstacles and ensure equitable access to treatment for all.

Watch the recording: https://youtu.be/6LyiP4BdtfA

Join the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) in commemorating the upcoming World Tuberculosis (TB) Day. During this webinar, you’ll have the opportunity to learn about the latest public health approaches to screening and detecting TB disease and infection at the community-level, and gain a better understanding of the clinical diagnosis, treatment, and management of TB infection. The presenters will include Dr. Tiffany Locke, Medical Advisor in the Infection Prevention and Surveillance Division at PHAC, and Dr. Ryan Cooper, Infectious Disease Physician with Alberta Health Services.

Register here: https://hc-sc-gc-ca.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_f7n5AnpSRei65xunrIOhuA#/registration

Stop TB Canada’s National Calls are an opportunity for the TB community in Canada to connect, share information, and identify opportunities for collaboration in the fight against TB.

On February 20th at 12:00pm ET, we will be facilitating a discussion on plans for World TB Day.

Join us to hear what we’re planning and come prepared to share how you will be commemorating World TB Day!

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/kcw2c9X4SKSo4iNRZb-oCA#/registration

The First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB) is pleased to invite you to a virtual learning opportunity. Please join Dr. Pamela Orr and Dr. Kathleen McMullin in a conversation about using the Cree Medicine Wheel to teach us how to approach care during a TB outbreak in an Indigenous community. In the context of tuberculosis management, the Medicine Wheel provides a path for the establishment of respectful cross-cultural relationships, the expression of values through action, true community engagement and partnership, and the establishment of culture-based processes of transparency, accountability and change.

Speakers:

Dr. Kathleen McMullen

Kathleen McMullin is a member of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band and resides in Prince Albert with her husband Brooks. She is the mother of two sons, Matthew (and his wife Andrea who gifted her with a Grandson, Logan) and Martin who walks in the Spirit World since 1999. Kathleen is employed at the University of Saskatchewan Community of Indigenous Nurses as an Indigenous Knowledge Keeper and Academic Advisor. She holds a PhD in Health Sciences, and her dissertation title is Kewetan: Walking in the Ancestral Footsteps of Our Woodland Cree Grandparents.

Dr. Pamela Orr

Pamela Orr started her career as a general practitioner in northern Manitoba and the Arctic. She is currently a Professor of Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Community Health at the University of Manitoba. She is engaged in research partnerships with First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities to support health and wellness. Dr. Orr is a past President of the North American Region of the International Union Against TB and Lung Disease, and previous Medical Director of the Manitoba TB Program.

Opening and closing remarks will be provided by Elder Syexwaliya Ann Whonnock, Squamish Nation.

We invite health care professionals and community health workers (including TB champions, DOT workers, administrative staff, etc.) working with First Nations, Inuit, or Métis People to attend.

Register here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUkcOyupjkpHtcklFktYyG0T6dn12_-Qu3c#/registration

Join this MSF webinar on October 15 about TB in children. MSF teams will present data from a survey in 14 countries* assessing the adoption of the WHO guidelines into national policy frameworks, progress towards their implementation, and challenges being faced by the countries in this process.

We will also hear from panelists about the opportunities and challenges to solving the gaps in policies and implementation, and what is needed to ensure that each child with TB can reach the care to survive.

Panelists include experts from WHO, national TB program and civil society.

*surveyed countries are: Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, India, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan and Uganda

Register here

In September 2024, the United Nations will hold the second High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) to coordinate global action against this growing global health threat. While TB accounts for a significant proportion of AMR-related deaths and drug resistance is a major driver of the TB burden, drug-resistant TB is largely overlooked in the broader AMR agenda. It is clear that no effort to end TB will be successful without a robust AMR response and no AMR response will be complete without ending TB.

This webinar explores the connections between TB and AMR, and will call on the inclusion of TB within the AMR agenda. Speakers highlight some of the challenges and opportunities that exist in addressing the leading infectious disease killer, while mitigating the increasing risk of drug resistance.

Speakers include:

• Himanshu Patel: MDR-TB Survivor

• Janika Hauser: Director, Campaigns in Global Health

• Dr. Giorgia Sulis: Canada Research Chair in Communicable Disease Epidemiology and Assistant Professor, University of Ottawa

• Dr. Ryan Cooper: Infectious Disease Physician and Head of the Alberta TB Program

• Dr. Cherise Scott: Senior Strategy Manager, Unitaid

Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHWnmAzAqIw

Following the United Nations High-Level Meeting on TB that took place in September of 2023, this webinar will serve as a check-in for TB advocates in Canada to assess where we are and where we need to go to fulfill TB elimination commitments.

Speakers:

Monica Shandal: TB survivor & Stop TB Canada steering committee member

Monica Shandal was working in Malawi as an impact evaluation practitioner when she fell sick - she lost her voice and became extremely lethargic. Given that it was 2020, and there was a lot going on in the world with COVID-19 border closures and being alone in a new country, she assumed it was due to stress and carried on with her life. The following year, after returning to Canada and feeling much better, she needed to complete a TB skin test as a routine procedure for a PhD program she had been admitted into. She was later asked to do an x-ray, followed by many other tests including blood tests and bronchoscopies. In July 2021, Monica was diagnosed with subclinical pulmonary TB. Even in a country with ample resources, like Canada, she found that there are many barriers to care. She feels fortunate that she had access to a TB clinic. Her biggest challenge was finding communities in Canada that understood her journey. She has since joined the TBPeople Canada group and hopes to use her experience as a survivor and an advocate for good and to help with awareness and access to care for TB.

Lucica Ditiu: Executive Director of the Stop TB Partnership

Lucica Ditiu has been the Executive Director of the Stop TB Partnership since January 2011. Dr Ditiu is a physician and a public health expert, who has devoted her career to helping people living in communities heavily burdened by tuberculosis. Dr Ditiu has been instrumental in developing a clear identity for Stop TB Partnership, in ensuring a strong voice of TB Community in international arena and a great advocate for all those marginalized and vulnerable due to TB. She has deepened engagement with The Global Fund working with the board, the secretariat and at the country level. She works to ensure the provision of continued access of quality-assured TB drugs and diagnostics through the Global Drug Facility. A strong believer in innovation and change, Dr. Ditiu is restless in pushing for more ambition in TB work and in challenging status quo.

Tina Campbell: TB Advisor, Northern Inter-TRibal Health Authority & Stop TB Canada co-chair

Tina Campbell is an Indigenous woman of Cree ancestry who lived a majority of her life in Nunavut. Her passion for TB work started in 2010 as a nursing student during a summer placement at a TB clinic. With rates of TB being 290x greater than southern Canada - her learning and experience grew fast. She became a RN in 2013 and continued work as a TB Nurse for 6 years where her main roles were case management, contact tracing and surveillance. She then worked as a Territorial TB Educator for a year where she provided training, orientation and TB education to staff. Tina heavily advocated for cultural orientation for every health care professional providing TB Care, which focused on learning the historical events regarding TB and the Indigenous population. Since September of 2019, she has been in the TB Advisor role for Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority (NITHA).

Yassen Tcholakov: Public Health Physician & Stop TB Canada steering committee member

Yassen Tcholakov works as a public health doctor in Nunavik and has an appointment as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Global and Public Health at McGill University. He has been involved in global health advocacy for more than a decade and has represented numerous health professional organizations in front of the United Nations. Yassen is passionate about health equity and this has driven his career choices and volunteer engagements.

Madlen Nash: Assistant Director of Policy & Engagement for SMART4TB & Stop TB Canada steering committee member

Madlen Nash is the Assistant Director of Policy & Engagement for SMART4TB at Johns Hopkins University where she guides global and nation-specific policy recommendations and ensures representation of affected communities in TB research and policy translation. Her work in TB over the past decade has spanned academic, government and non-profit sectors. While at the McGill International TB Centre her research focused on the evaluation of innovative diagnostics for TB and HIV. In 2017, Madlen co-founded SeeChange, a non-profit that supports communities to lead responses to their own health crises. Most recently, she worked for the Canadian government supporting TB outbreak responses in remote communities. Madlen holds an MSc in Epidemiology from McGill University.

Watch the recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hD3hwJD_iKY&t=4s

The First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB) is pleased to invite you to a virtual

learning opportunity on Pediatric Tuberculosis.

Speakers will include:

• Dr Mahli Brindamour, general paediatrician and consultant to Saskatchewan

• Tuberculosis Prevention and Control

• Elder Syexwaliya Ann Whonnock, Squamish Nation

• Speaker with lived experience

We invite health care professionals and community health workers (including TB

champions, DOT workers, early childhood workers, administrative staff, etc) working

with First Nations, Inuit, or Métis People to attend.

Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUtcu2tqz8vG9TkSdaOVEdB60gtaMaAlG6D

Results National Calls are monthly events gathering passionate advocates, policy makers and influencers committed to make transformational change.

Join us for the March National call and delve into the narrative of tuberculosis (TB), recognized as the world's deadliest infectious disease, revealing the stark inequities ingrained in global health.

Dr. Mahli Brindamour will be the Guest Speaker for the call. Dr. Brindamour, a general pediatrician specializing in global health, refugee health, and infectious diseases, will shed light on the challenges and barriers to diagnosis and access to care for children affected by tuberculosis.

In the second half of the call, engage in a workshop on digital advocacy and using social media with Denise MacDonald, Results Communications Manager.

Don't miss this opportunity to deepen your understanding and contribute to the advocacy journey to end tuberculosis.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwrcO2tqTMjEt3BPvHXlf6rqwv1oBz0P-Kf#/registration

Stop TB Canada National Calls are intended to provide a space for the TB community in Canada to connect, share information, and identify opportunities for collaboration. This call will be focused on sharing our plans for World TB Day 2024. The Stop TB Canada secretariat will outline our plans to commemorate this day and let you know how you can get involved with our advocacy. This will also be an opportunity for you to share your individual or organizational plans for World TB Day - we are always happy to amplify your work!

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEqfu-urjkrGtXHz5s4sTSwR7P1raH0Tyvf#/registration

As we prepare for another busy year for TB vaccine development and TB R&D at large, join the first TB Vaccine Advocacy Roadmap (TB Vax ARM) call of the year.

On Wednesday 14 February 2024, get updates and insights on:

• 2023 TB Research Funding Trends (Mike Frick, Treatment Action Group)

• Reflections from the pre-HLM on TB New TB Tools side event (Karishma Saran, FIND)

• 7th Global Forum on TB Vaccines

• Update on the H56:IC31 Phase 2b results

Register here: https://iavi.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAscemoqzMuGtIvUuE7fVasTa7ifd2ya-QD#/registration

On UHC Day 2023, Friends of the Global Fight will host a global webinar discuss to the findings and implications of our new report, The Global Fund’s Unique Contribution to Universal Health Coverage and Stronger Health Systems, for health policy, health systems strengthening and UHC.  The webinar will include an overview of the report, a panel discussion of experts and Q&A with the audience. 

Register here:

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_aRimR_9gThC2_3XDcAI_ow#/registration

The World Health Organization (WHO) is convening a Civil Society Town Hall in close collaboration with WHO's Civil Society Task Force on TB, on preparations for the upcoming UN High-Level Meeting on TB.

The Town Hall will be led by WHO's Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, senior WHO leadership and members of the Task Force.

The event will aim to:

1. Highlight the actions taken by the Task Force in the context of preparations for the upcoming UN High Level Meeting on TB;

2. Consult with participants and harness their feedback and recommendations to strengthen civil society participation and input to the deliberations at the UN High Level Meeting on TB.

The event is open to all stakeholders in the fight to end TB, and we especially invite civil society and affected communities to participate in the discussions.

Register for the event here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScJ2jvUcfSC1tRvK-TOZW6oo2Wt7bTFzzWnuRGY83VwqE0AbA/viewform

A zoom link will be shared upon registration, closer to the date.

Join Treatment Action Group (TAG) for a webinar to learn more about important developments in TB vaccine research. The webinar will provide an overview of the TB vaccine pipeline, based on TAG’s recent Tuberculosis Vaccines Pipeline Report, including the different candidates at different stages of research and ongoing and upcoming studies that advocates should closely follow. This webinar is intended for the community, civil society, and other advocates and interested stakeholders. Participants will have an opportunity to ask questions about the pipeline with no specialized knowledge of TB vaccine research assumed.

By better understanding the pipeline, participants will be equipped to advocate for TB vaccines at upcoming events like the UN High-Level Meeting on TB; build demand for new TB vaccines by sharing information with communities; and support governments as they undertake clinical trials and begin preparing for new TB vaccine policymaking and introduction.

Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYkdO6gqzgjEtX8t26V_yF9rDhgJNX2k632

As a world-leader in TB diagnosis, treatment and management - with in-depth expertise and experience of working in high-burden countries with limited resources - The Union has developed a series of resources on TB in children and adolescents. This international webinar will focus specifically on children and adolescents as a vulnerable group most often infected with TB by undiagnosed and untreated adults.

The webinar will reflect four objectives within The Union’s TB strategy:

1. End the spread of TB

2. Prevent the development of TB

3. Effective care and management of people with TB

4. Engage public and private sectors to address the special needs of children with TB and adults with TB-related disabilities, other illnesses and risks

It will put The Union’s expertise and resources in your hands to fight the spread of TB and care for people with TB where you are.

This webinar is free to attend but you need to ensure you register in advance.

This 90-minute webinar is designed for healthcare professionals working on TB in high-burden countries with limited resources. This includes managers, coordinators, and those specialising in child and adolescent TB work within national TB programmes, Ministries of Health, international organisations, foundations, corporations and development agencies.

Register for the webinar here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kBAiDnGEReSZK90crz9fMg

In 2021, Chief Cadmus Delorme faced one of the hardest moments as Chief when the Saulteaux and Cree First Nation made international headlines with the validation of potentially 751 unmarked graves near the former Marieval Indian Residential School. Cowessess made headlines again as the first First Nations to sign an agreement with Ottawa and the province that returns jurisdiction over children in care to the First Nation. Federal legislation overhauling Indigenous child welfare was passed in 2019 and came into force last year.

Join us for this FREE webinar hosted on World TB Day as Chief Cadmus Delorme brings stories, truth, and understanding to the role each person plays in assuring the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action are implemented.

This event will take place on March 24th, 2023, at 1:00 pm EST. Click here to register!

The First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB) is pleased to invite you to a virtual event for World TB Day 2023. This year’s theme is Culturally Competent Tuberculosis Care for Health Care Workers and Public Health Professionals Serving Indigenous Peoples of Canada: Chapter 12 of the Canadian Tuberculosis Standards. We invite healthcare providers working with, or providing care to any First Nations, Inuk, or Métis person affected by TB in Canada to attend.

We will hear from:

Kelsie McGregor, Policy Analyst, Assembly of First Nations

Raymond Obed, Policy Analyst, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami

Other speakers to be confirmed!

Join the webinar here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85751379196?pwd=cDVhSjlXZFRqb01xZkw3MXplZEd1dz09

Yes, we can #EndTB by 2030.

Despite being preventable and largely treatable, tuberculosis (TB) is one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, second only to COVID-19. Over the past two years, we have seen devastating increases in TB incidence and deaths, due to disruptions to programming and care during the COVID-19 pandemic, with 1.6 million people dying of TB in 2021 alone.

TB is also an issue in Canada, where the burden of disease is disproportionately felt by Indigenous peoples and newcomers. Addressing the ongoing TB outbreaks that Indigenous and Inuit communities face across Canada is not only essential to meeting the government’s commitment to TB elimination across Inuit Nunangat by 2030, but also to advancing the work of Reconciliation. Additionally, with the vast majority of the TB burden in Canada being borne by newcomers, addressing the TB crisis in Canada is intricately tied to the global fight to end TB, to global solidarity, and to the right to health for all.

Ahead of this World TB Day (March 24), join us for an open discussion with distinguished speakers who will share their valuable experience and insights on how we can work together to take meaningful, high-impact action to end TB once and for all in Canada and abroad – because we can.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwpc-iuqjMiGtN_Hkb9mWxxFsmTqldsaauD

Every few months, Stop TB Canada hosts a National Call to bring together all those in Canada who are involved in the fight to end TB. These calls are intended to provide a space for collaboration and information sharing. Each call will cover a specific and timely topic relevant to the Canadian context. This month, the National Call will focus on coordinating our plans for World TB Day 2023.

Join the next National Call on Thursday February 16, 2023 at 1:00 pm ET! We will be sharing our plans for World TB Day and would love to hear how you will be commemorating the day as well.

Register for the National Call here.

The last 8 years have witnessed great strides in our understanding of the pathogenesis, immunology, and epidemiology of tuberculosis. In the past decade, after too many decades of inaction, new diagnostics and new treatment regimens for tuberculosis (TB) infection, and drug-resistant TB disease have been developed. This 8th edition of the Canadian Thoracic Society Tuberculosis Standards (the Standards) is a set of tools that have been extensively revised to incorporate much of this new information, building upon the 7 previous versions.

Leveraging the knowledge from the Standards, the Stop TB Canada network pulled key findings to develop specific calls-to-actions needed for national TB elimination. Join Stop TB Canada and the Canadian Thoracic Society on December 8th at 1:00pm ET for a webinar on our key recommendations to help inform the development of a National TB Elimination Strategy, including:

1. Improve TB screening strategies among high-priority groups.

2. Address the social determinants of health and barriers to TB care.

3. Improve access to essential medicines for TB treatment.

4. Implement a timely tuberculosis surveillance infrastructure.

5. Adopt accountability, monitoring, and evaluation measures for programming.

COVID-19 has reversed years of progress in the fight to end TB, and has exacerbated several upstream drivers of TB burden- we need to get back on track to eliminating TB. Join Stop TB Canada and the Canadian Thoracic Society in calling on Canada to implement an equitable and effective national TB Elimination Plan! Speakers at the webinar include:

• Dr. Dick Menzies, Director, McGill International TB Centre

• Dr. Christina Greenaway, Infectious Disease Physician & Clinician, McGill International TB Centre

• Monica Shandal, TB Survivor & PhD Candidate

• Dr. Elizabeth Rea, Associate Medical Officer of Health for TB, Toronto Public Health & co-Chair, Stop TB Canada

• Adam Houston, Medical Policy & Advocacy Officer, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Canada

• Dr. Courtney Heffernan, Manager, TB Program Evaluation and Research Unit, University of Alberta,

See the event details below:

Date: Thursday, December 8, 2022

Time: 1:00 PM EST

Register for the event here.

Watch the recording of the webinar here: