The G20 is home to over half of the worlds’ TB burden, and has a critical role to play in determining the future trajectory of the disease.
Since November 2016, the Caucus has led advocacy efforts around TB and AMR and helped secure strong language in the G20 Leaders and Health Ministers’ Declarations. G20 nations have been referencing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) since 2015, during Turkey’s presidency. It was only in 2017, during the German Presidency, that AMR was discussed from a Health perspective.
For the Global TB Caucus’ G20 TB Campaign in 2019, led by Cintia Dantas, Global Advocacy Director, the aim was to help ensure that TB stayed firmly on the AMR agenda, and that commitments to TB research and development funding were maintained and increased. In addition, we prioritised ensuring that the G20 commitments were aligned with the outcomes of the United Nations High Level Meeting on TB (UNHLM-TB) and ensuring recognition of the role that the Global Fund to Fight AIDS TB and Malaria plays in efforts to end TB. Throughout the year, we also assessed the need to expand the TB discussions within broader health subjects such as health system strengthening.
In October 2019, the final version of the G20 Ministers of Health Declaration was issued:
11. We reaffirm our commitment to end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, and encourage all countries and stakeholders to strengthen their efforts to achieve the related SDG targets. We reaffirm the commitments made at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Meeting on the Fight against Tuberculosis held on 26th September 2018. We welcome the success of 6th replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) that took place in Lyon, France on 9th and 10th October 2019.
It also mentioned the need for a coordinated approach to address AMR and UHC in order to achieve the 2030 Agenda.
We welcome the ongoing work of the Global AMR R&D Hub to inform countries and investors of the latest AMR R&D landscape for addressing the WHO priority pathogen list and tuberculosis (TB) in order to pave the way for efficient employment of tailor-made incentives for R&D and facilitate global discussion on priorities and opportunities for increasing investments in R&D.
This follows on from the G20 Osaka Leader's Declaration in June, that contained strong references to TB, AMR and the Global Fund October 2019 Replenishment.
The Caucus would like to thank all its members for the countless efforts, in special our co-chair Rt Hon Nick Herbert from the UK, Hon Gisela Scaglia from Argentina, Hon Warren Entsch from Australia, and all the MPs who were engaged in the G20 campaign, with a special acknowledgement to Hon Keizo Takemi, Chair of the Stop TB Partnership Promoting Parliamentary Federation, and our partners Stop TB Partnership Japan and the Global Fund in addition to all our partners who were involved and engaged in this year's TB advocacy campaign.