Elevating the TB–NCD Agenda at the UN

The 2025 UN High-Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases comes at a pivotal moment for TB advocates in Latin America and the Caribbean. Diabetes, smoking and alcohol use are driving over 1.8 million new TB cases each year. Nearly one in seven people who survive TB live with lasting lung damage. Parliamentarians are calling for a political response that integrates TB and NCDs and delivers change for people on the ground.

This month Hon. Dr. Luis Enrique Gallo Cantera, Member of the Uruguayan Congress and Global Vice Chair of the Global TB Caucus, met with Permanent Missions from across the region and leading global health actors. The message was clear: the growing intersection of TB and NCDs demands coordinated action at global and national level.

During the week Hon. Gallo held discussions with representatives from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Paraguay, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Talks focused on aligning national priorities with the forthcoming Political Declaration on NCDs and ensuring TB, too often absent from these dialogues, remains central to the agenda.

There was strong consensus that integrated care is both possible and necessary. As NCD burdens rise and TB rates remain stubborn, diplomats underlined the urgency of early detection, cross-sector collaboration and investment in health systems that respond to both.

Hon. Gallo also met with Werner Obermeyer, Director of the WHO Office at the UN, to explore how global frameworks can drive stronger country-level action. Recent efforts such as the proposed resolution on integrated lung health at the World Health Assembly show momentum for a unified approach.

This vision was reinforced at a meeting hosted by the Permanent Mission of Uruguay, where diplomats from across Latin America committed to keeping regional leadership on the TB and NCD agenda ahead of UNGA.

Why it matters now

The Global TB Caucus continues to press for political leadership to unite TB and NCD responses. Shared risk factors. Overlapping symptoms. Compounded inequities. The links are undeniable. Political will must match the urgency.

With High-Level Meetings on TB, UHC and NCDs converging into a single agenda, parliamentarians are showing once again that political action is the bridge between scientific progress and real-world impact.