WHO Praises Brazil’s Leadership Towards Ending Tuberculosis

The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomes the new decree by the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on the establishment of an Interministerial Committee for the Elimination of Tuberculosis and other Socially Determined Diseases (CIEDS).

“Brazil has made rapid progress over the past six months in bringing together nine ministries to prioritize ending TB and address the key drivers of the epidemic”, said Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director of WHO’s Global TB Programme. “This will serve as an inspiration for other leaders. We urge countries to advance efforts to strengthen multisectoral collaboration and build an effective accountability system on ending TB.”

The Interministerial Committee will be coordinated by the Ministry of Health that is headed by Honorable Minister Dr Nísia Trindade Lima (photo), and will include representatives from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Hunger, Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship, Ministry of Racial Equality, Ministry of Integration and Regional Development, Ministry of Justice and Public Security, and Ministry of Indigenous Peoples. The committee will support Brazil’s ambitious plan to end TB and address the main drivers of the TB epidemic including poverty, undernutrition, and other vulnerabilities affecting key populations.