Tag: Sustainable Development Goals

UN calls for global action to turn cities into engines of sustainable development — Global Issues

“World Cities Day is a time to consider the pivotal role cities play in sustainable development,” said António Guterres, setting the stage for a global call to action.

Cities, he noted, are not only engines of economic growth but are also at the forefront of the world’s most pressing challenges. From the climate crisis to widening social inequalities and political polarization, cities find themselves grappling with a multitude of complex issues.

1.1 billion in slums

Cities, towns and their surrounding areas act as powerful magnets for innovation, culture and opportunities, alluring both talent and investment.

Today, urban living has already been embraced by more than half of the world’s population, and UN Habitat projections indicate that nearly 70 per cent of people will live in cities by 2050.

While cities generate more than 80 percent of the global GDP, create powerful networks of entrepreneurship and business growth and give ample opportunities for talents development, they can turn into an inequality trap, with overcrowding, pollution, poor infrastructure and social injustice.

Approximately 1.1 billion people live in slums and informal settlements in urban areas, which entrenches poverty and limits opportunities.

More support to local authorities

The Secretary-General expressed his concerns about the challenges faced by local authorities. “Local authorities are struggling with limited support and resources,” he stated. “The demand for critical infrastructure, affordable housing, efficient transport, and essential social services continues to grow exponentially.”

This year’s theme for World Cities Day, “Financing Sustainable Urban Development,” serves as a clarion call for collective action. It urges governments, international organizations, the private sector, and civil society to collaborate and mobilize financial resources to build resilient, sustainable cities.

“I am a strong advocate for equitable financing solutions at the global level,” the UN chief emphasized. Such solutions, together with innovative and diverse funding sources, are essential to strengthen local financing strategies that are climate-friendly, inclusive, and equitable, he added.

To enhance coordination and amplify the voices of cities and regions, the Secretary-General has recently established of the Advisory Group on Local and Regional Governments. This group will focus on implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ensuring that urban areas are heard as the world prepares for the Summit of the Future next year.

Sustainable urban future for all

The Municipality of Üsküdar in Istanbul, Türkiye, hosted today World Cities Day 2023 under the theme “Financing sustainable urban future for all”.

Over 1,000 participants representing 221 countries had registered for the event in-person and online, according to the UN Human Settlements Progaramme (UN-Habitat).

In her remarks on the Day, UN-Habitat Executive Director Maimunah Mohd Sharif said that progress towards achieving sustainable and just development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) had stalled.

“Half of the world is now urban. There is no stopping this mega-trend. By adapting our cities and finding in them the resources and talent we need, we can upscale the solutions we need to ensure no one, and no place is left behind,” she said.

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‘Tipping points’ of risk pose new threats, UN report warns — Global Issues

Tipping points are reached when the systems we rely on stop functioning as designed, amplifying the risk of catastrophic impacts, according to new research published by the United Nations University – Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS).

The Interconnected Disaster Risks report 2023 finds that the world is fast approaching risk tipping points on multiple fronts.

Cliff fast approaching

By indiscriminately extracting water resources, damaging nature and biodiversity, polluting both Earth and space while cutting down options to deal with disasters, human actions introduces new risks and amplifying existing ones.

“With these risk tipping points, it is as though we are approaching a cliff that we cannot see clearly ahead of us, and once we fall off the cliff, we can’t easily go back,” said Dr. Zita Sebesvari, one of the report’s lead authors and UNU-EHS Deputy Director.

The report analyses six interconnected risk tipping points. Selected for their representation of large global issues that impact lives across the world they are:

  • Accelerating extinctions that trigger chain reaction to ecosystem collapse
  • Groundwater depletion that drains water risking food supply
  • Mountain glaciers melting
  • Space debris causing loss of multiple satellites, “our eyes in the sky”
  • Unbearable heat making it hard to live in some areas
  • Uninsurable future when rising risks make homes unaffordable

The impacts can also cascade through to other systems and places around the world, authors of the report warn.

Understanding and acting

If risk tipping points are understood, informed decisions and decisive actions to avert the worst are possible.

“Because of the interconnected nature of these risk tipping points, their drivers, root causes and influences, avoiding them will require more than a single solution”, explained Dr. Sebesvari.

“We will need to develop solutions that bring together different sectors and address the drivers and root causes in a systemic way.”

The report offers a new framework that categorizes risk mitigation solutions into four types based on their approach: Avoid (preventing risk), Adapt (dealing with risk), Delay (slowing risk progression), and Transform (system overhaul). This framework aids in evaluating a solution’s potential outcomes and trade-offs.

Identifying a solution’s category helps evaluate potential outcomes and trade-offs.

For instance, addressing the “Unbearable heat” tipping point due to climate change may involve an Avoid-Transform approach to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while an Adapt-Delay approach could be installing air conditioners in hot climates, although this may contribute to global warming if powered by fossil fuels.

“In our interconnected world, we can all make changes and inspire others towards transforming the way we use our systems to reduce risk,” said Caitlyn Eberle, another lead author of the report and senior researcher for the UNU study.

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Global leaders call for action to meet ambitious development boost — Global Issues

The weeklong forum, organized by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), focuses on the challenges faced by developing countries amid today’s overlapping global crises.

The Secretary-General urged participants – including national and business leaders, sustainable stock exchanges, sovereign wealth funds and finance experts – to put the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) Stimulus Package into effect and work towards delivering $500 billion annual investment for developing countries.

Funding gap

The event also addressed the $4 trillion SDG investment gap, as today only 15 per cent of SDGs are on target to be met by 2030, with the investment gap in the developing world growing from $2.5 trillion per year in 2015 to $4 trillion today.

Leaders discussed ways to mobilise sustainable finance in global capital markets, ensure sustainability standards in sustainable finance, and channel more funds to where they are needed most.

They emphasised the need for international coordination involving both public and private sectors given the scale of the investment needs.

World Food Day

The first day of the forum also neatly aligned with World Food Day. Amid global supply chain disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine, UNCTAD and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) emphasised the critical role agrifood systems play in tackling global malnutrition, the loss of biodiversity, and climate change.

FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said transforming agrifood systems in low and middle-income countries will cost around $680 billion annually between now and 2030. Therefore, there is a critical need to attract efficient public and private sector investment in agrifood systems.

UN rewards climate action

Ten investment promotion agencies and special economic zones received the Investment Promotion Awards 2023, with winners from Brazil, China, Egypt, France, India, Namibia, the Republic of Korea, South Africa, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates.

This year’s awards spotlight the work of investment promotion agencies in attracting investment to accelerate the transition to clean, sustainable energy aimed at curbing climate change, while recognizing innovative approaches to investment promotion, finance and partnerships.

While international investment in renewable energy has nearly tripled since the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015, much of the growth has been concentrated in developed countries. A dedicated track within the forum will focus on advancing climate finance and investment.

“Not enough funds are going into new renewable energy plants, water and sanitation installations, agricultural projects, hospitals. And only five per cent of all sustainable funds are located in developing countries. Funding exists, but allocation has been misguided,” said UNCTAD Secretary-General, Rebeca Grynspan.

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A UN Resident Coordinator blog — Global Issues

Earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanic activity and other natural disasters regularly cause destruction and the loss of life in parts of the Caribbean.

On the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction marked annually on 13 October, UN Resident Coordinator for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Didier Trebucq and Nahuel Arenas, regional chief of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) consider the connection between disasters and inequality.

“In the Caribbean, we share a deep understanding of the intricate link between disasters and inequality. It’s a narrative of uneven access to crucial resources, leaving the most vulnerable exposed to the impacts of disasters. When disasters strike, they disproportionately affect marginalized communities, exacerbating existing inequalities and pushing them deeper into poverty.

© UN Barbados & the Eastern Caribbean

UN Resident Coordinator for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Didier Trebucq (left) visits St. Vincent and the Grenadines six months after the volcanic eruption.

Fighting inequality is critical to build a stronger and safer future for everyone.

Interconnected challenges

The region faces a range of challenges today—economic uncertainties, widening disparities, supply chain disruptions, energy shortages, price surges, and inflation—all of which cast shadows on economies and livelihoods and worsens the impact of disasters. According to the UNDRR’s Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction, globally disasters will push an additional 100.7 million people into poverty by 2030 and an estimated 37.6 million more people will be living in conditions of extreme poverty due to the impacts of climate change.

Recent research paints a stark picture: the poorest bear the heaviest burden when disasters strike. For instance, the deadliest recent disaster in the Caribbean, the Port-au-Prince Earthquake in 2010, impacted the poorest country of the region: Haiti; and its long-term impacts continue to be visible more than a decade later.

MINUSTAH/Marco Dormino

A man walks through the rubble of collapsed buildings in downtown Port au Prince, Haiti, following the earthquake in January 2010.

Between 1970 and 2019, a staggering 91 per cent of all deaths caused by weather, climate, and water hazards occurred in developing countries like the Caribbean. Similarly, the World Bank reports that 82 per cent of disaster-related deaths occurred in low and lower-middle-income countries.

Cycles of inequality

Approximately 75 per cent of extreme weather events are now linked to climate change, primarily fueled by carbon emissions. Ironically, those experiencing the most severe losses from disasters are often those who have contributed the least to the problem.

In essence, inequality acts as a conduit, transferring disaster risk from those who benefit from risk-taking to those who bear its costs.

Impoverished communities are more likely to reside in hazard-prone areas, lack the resources to invest in risk reduction measures, live in substandard and insecure housing, and have limited access to essential services such as healthcare, public transport, and basic infrastructure.

Specific populations, including women, children, and persons with disabilities, are disproportionately affected by disaster impacts. For example, studies reveal that women in the Caribbean region are less likely to receive official warnings about impending disasters than men. Similarly, during past disasters, persons with disabilities were often the most vulnerable.

Building resilience through early warning

At the UN Office in the Eastern Caribbean, we are rising to the challenge by prioritizing our commitments to the Sendai Framework and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This entails a resolute reduction of poverty and inequality, alongside action against disaster risk and vulnerability. Our focus remains unwaveringly fixed on the most vulnerable communities, ensuring they receive the protection and support they deserve.

On a global scale, decision-makers are looking at revamping the financial architecture, aligning it to better serve the needs of the world’s most vulnerable countries. Economic resilience is critical for those most at risk from disasters, forming an indispensable component of our collective strategy to confront the challenges that lie ahead.

© UN Barbados & the Eastern Caribbean

Disaster preparedness drills can help reduce the impact of disasters on communities.

Furthermore, the implementation of the Early Warnings for All initiative, including in Caribbean countries such as Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda, will help to ensure that every corner of the globe is covered by multi-hazard early warning systems within the next four years.

By prioritizing the most at-risk communities, we offer them the vital lifeline of preparedness and early warnings.

By engaging in disaster risk reduction, countries will bolster their capacity, and empower diverse groups in all decision-making processes. Women, the elderly, and persons living with disabilities should be at the forefront, and actively included in our efforts.

The presence of local, national and regional actors, including state and civil society organisations remains key to humanitarian and resilience effectiveness since local actors are often the first responders in an emergency.

As we commemorate this year’s International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, let us recommit ourselves to this formidable challenge. Let us remember that in the face of disaster-induced inequality, we hold the power to reshape the future.

Together, we can break these chains, forging a path to resilience and equality for all, for a brighter Caribbean awaits.”

UN Resident Coordinator:

  • The UN Resident Coordinator, sometimes called the RC, is the highest-ranking representative of the UN development system at the country level.
  • In this occasional series, UN News is inviting RCs to blog on issues important to the UN and the country where they serve.
  • Learn more about the UN’s work in in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean here.
  • Find out more about the UN Development Coordination Office here.

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Cutting disaster risk will boost equality, improve resilience — Global Issues

According to various estimates, up to 75 per cent of extreme weather events are currently connected to climate change, fuelled by carbon emissions.

The countries experiencing the greatest losses from disasters are those who contribute the least to the problem.

UN figures reveal that from 1970 through 2019, some 91 percent of all of deaths from weather, climate, and water hazards occurred in developing countries.

The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) forecasts that by 2030, the world will face some 1.5 significant disasters per day. In light of such trends scaling up disaster risk reduction efforts is a must.

Those with least, face ‘greatest risk’

“Those with least are often at greatest risk from extreme weather. They may live in places that are more susceptible to flooding and drought; and they have fewer resources to deal with damage and to recover from it”, said the UN chief, marking the day under the theme: “Fighting inequality for a resilient future”.

Mr. Guterres urged countries to break the cycle of poverty and disaster by honouring the 2015 Paris Agreement, striving to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

One of the tools to tackle inequality at the global level is the Loss and Damage Fund which is expected to be operationalized at the COP28 climate conference in early December.

Another important initiative aims to ensure that that every person on Earth is covered by an early warning system by 2027.

Early warnings for all

At the September UN Climate Ambition Summit, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) announced a large-scale, collaborative push to establish the Early Warning Systems in some of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, for which an initial injection of US$1.3 million from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) will be used for the first group of countries.

These include Antigua and Barbuda, Cambodia, Chad, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Fiji, and Somalia.

© UNDP/Kate Jean Smith

Students take part in a safety evacuation drill in the coastal province of Koh Kong, Cambodia.

Designed by UNDP, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the UNDRR, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the project is a key contribution to realizing the UN Secretary-General’s Early Warnings for All initiative.

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UN chief reinforces call for multilateral reform, outlines next steps — Global Issues

Other key priorities to emerge were the state of the environment and ensuring responsible use of new technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Secretary-General António Guterres added.

Against this backdrop, the UN’s visionary Our Common Agenda presents proposals and ideas that can bridge the gap, “between the world as it is and the world as we know it can be,” Mr. Guterres said.

The coming year of preparations for the Summit of the Future will be critical he told Member States, highlighting four main areas of work ahead.

The proposals and ideas in Our Common Agenda are bridges across the aspiration gap – between the world as it is, and the world as we know it can be
— Secretary-General Guterres

Renewing the social contract

Our Common Agenda emphasizes renewing the social contract based on human rights and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – the SDGs – the UN chief said.

This includes strengthening the public sector, creating green and digital jobs, ending violence against women, and promoting human rights.

“The high-impact initiatives set out at the SDG Summit will enable us to step up our activities,” the UN chief said.

Youth and the future

The report recognizes the key role of young people and future generations, harnessing their energy and creativity through a new UN Youth Office.

The goal is to make global governance more responsive and accountable to their needs, with a focus on climate and education, he said.

Transforming global governance

The report also places an emphasis on adapting intergovernmental decision-making to modern realities, including discussions on strengthening global governance in areas like health, environment, and digital cooperation.

Proposals for deep reforms to international financial architecture are gaining traction globally and will be pursued at key meetings, including the COP28 climate conference in Dubai this year, and next year’s Summit of the Future.

UN 2.0

The Secretary-General also highlighted that steps are being taken to transform the UN system by updating its culture and skills across key areas.

Initiatives include launching a Scientific Advisory Board, establishing a UN Futures Lab, and increasing engagement with stakeholders like civil society, parliamentarians, and the private sector.

Advisory bodies on regional government and artificial intelligence will also be set up, he said.

Next steps

Mr. Guterres highlighted his policy briefs on the proposals of Our Common Agenda, the report of the High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism, and the SDG Summit in High Level Week that provide a successful model for next year’s marquee summit.

“Together, we have already taken significant steps towards the inclusive, effective, networked multilateralism that our circumstances demand,” he said, urging governments for their strong engagement in the coming days.

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World Habitat Day focuses on cities as drivers of growth — Global Issues

Global economic growth is declining to about 2.5 per cent this year, the UN said. Apart from the initial COVID-19 crisis three years ago, and the global financial crisis in 2009, this represents the weakest level since 2001.

Given the size of the contribution of cities to national economies, the future of many countries will be determined by their productivity.

Investment and access

Urban areas can promote inclusive, green, and sustainable growth, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in his message for the Day.

“Building greater resilience and better protecting vulnerable populations requires far greater investments in sustainable infrastructure, early warning systems, and affordable, adequate housing for all,” he said.

“At the same time, we must work to improve access to electricity, water, sanitation, transport, and other basic services – while investing in education, skills development, digital innovation, and entrepreneurship.”

In this regard, “local action is vital, and global cooperation indispensable,” he added.

Planet urbanizing rapidly

The push for more resilient, safe and inclusive cities is among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which point the way to a fair, just and green future for all people and the planet by 2030.

Currently, more than half the world lives in cities, which is projected to rise to 70 per cent by 2050. Over one billion are living in slums, and their numbers will also increase.

Speaking at the official ceremony for World Habitat Day in Baku, Azerbaijan, the head of the UN’s urban development agency said countries are “far behind” in achieving SDG 11. The biggest challenge is data reporting and monitoring at the national and local levels.

Fair financing

Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, recalled that at the recent SDG Summit at UN Headquarters in New York, the Secretary-General urged world leaders to strengthen both multi-level governance and cooperation.

She also drew attention to “the elephant in the room” – financing – noting that the issue was raised by most delegates at the UN General Assembly last month.

“As the Secretary General said, we need to reform the current unsustainable and unfair financial system,” she told participants.

“We cannot expect least developed and small island developing states to implement the SDGs as well as climate adaptation measures if 70 per cent of their total revenues are used to service debt.”

Ms. Sharif said UN-Habitat is working with over 600 cities in all regions of the world and will finalize a position paper on financing sustainable urbanization.

Urban October

World Habitat Day has been commemorated annually since 1986.

It marks the start of Urban October, which provides an opportunity for people everywhere to join the global conversation around the potentials and perils of a planet that is becoming ever more urban.

The month concludes with World Cities Day on 31 October.

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UN chief — Global Issues

In a message commemorating Sunday’s International Day of Older Persons, the UN chief underscored the pervasive issue of ageism in society and the vulnerability of older persons in the face of crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, poverty and climate emergencies.

“Addressing these and other issues is a human rights imperative that will benefit everyone,” he said.

Today’s youth, tomorrow’s older persons

The theme of this year’s International Day is “Fulfilling the Promises of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for Older Persons: Across Generations.”

Studies show that number of people aged 65 years or older worldwide is projected to more than double – rising from 761 million in 2021 to 1.6 billion in 2050 – with the number of people aged 80 years or older growing even faster.

This further underscores the urgency of strengthening the protection of the human rights of current and future generations of older persons around the world.

Much to contribute

Mr. Guterres highlighted that older persons can make significant contributions in terms of their knowledge and experience, and have the potential to contribute to peace, sustainable development and the protection of the environment.

“We must ensure their active engagement, full participation, and essential contributions – including through social and workplace policies built around their specific needs,” he said.

He also emphasized the need for intergenerational dialogue and unity as vital components of building more inclusive and age-friendly societies and a resilient world for everyone.

Uphold human rights

Echoing Secretary-General’s call, Claudia Mahler, Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, urged nations to uphold the human rights of older persons as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

“I call on Member States, the United Nations, National Human Rights Institutions, civil society and all relevant stakeholders to make the Universal Declaration a reality for all older persons,” she said.

While the UDHR encompasses the human rights of older persons, Ms. Mahler expressed concern that older individuals often remain invisible in international human rights law due to a lack of recognition of ageism and explicit prohibition of age-based discrimination.

“I encourage Member States to uphold and promote the universality and indivisibility of human rights in pledging for a future of human rights for all older persons, keeping in mind that the youth of today are the older persons of tomorrow.”

Independent experts

Independent Experts are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. They are mandated to monitor and report on specific thematic issues, such as human rights of older persons, or country situations.

They serve in their individual capacity. They are not UN staff and do not receive a salary.

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‘It’s crunch time’ to reach the SDGs, Mohammed tells Global Citizen Festival — Global Issues

“Come rain or shine, we’re here because we are committed to our planet”, said Amina Mohammed, addressing the Global Citizen Festival, against the backdrop of the UN General Assembly High Level Week, taking place down the road.

All to play for at halftime

She highlighted the race to reach the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), end the climate crisis, and push for real gender equality.

“What happens today is a reflection of leaders meeting all week, promises made seven years ago, and today we’re recommitting to what the great Al Pacino said, tell it like it is: it’s halftime, and we’re down…but we’re not out!”

She asked the crowd assembled in the green heart of Manhattan if they felt like they were changing the world: “Well at the United Nations, we’re joining you, we are mobilizing people around the world.”

Global Citizen’s main mission is to end extreme poverty, through goals that align fully with the UN and the SDGs.

At the Festival, global leaders pledged $240 million for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), promised to protect a further 900,000 hectares of land in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest, and secured promises from nine members of the US Congress, and the leader of the Labour Party in the UK, Kier Starmer, to follow through on national climate commitments.

Struggling to keep promises

The Deputy Secretary-General acknowledged that many around the world are hurting both in “mind and body”, with wars raging, and the planet not just warming – but boiling.

“Leaders are really struggling to use their power to keep the promises of the Global Goals and they risk breaking that promise to billions of people”, she said.

The good news is with seven years remaining to 2030, the game can still be won in the second half, but “we can’t win unless we stop our world from heating up.

Bridge the divide

“We need leaders to bridge the digital divide – because we can’t win if billions of people especially girls are left offline and left behind.”

She said if women and girls are left on the sidelines of the collective effort, that means half the team isn’t even on the field.

“So New Yorkers, it’s crunch time. But crunch time is when champions are made”, she said.

“Let’s unite and fight together – inch by inch – to keep the promise of achieving the Global Goals by 2030.”

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New global action pledge to end TB by 2030 — Global Issues

The document lays out ambitious new targets for the next five years that include reaching 90 per cent of people with TB prevention and care services, providing social benefit packages to those who have the disease, and licensing at least one new vaccine.

TB is the second leading infectious killer worldwide after COVID-19, with some 1.6 million deaths in 2021 alone, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The only available vaccine is more than a century old.

Defeating a killer

“Why, after all the progress we have made – from sending man to the moon, to bringing the world to our fingertips – have we been unable to defeat a preventable and curable disease that kills over 4,400 people a day?” said the President of the UN General Assembly, Dennis Francis.

TB has afflicted humanity for millennia, going by several names including the white plague and consumption.

It is caused by bacteria and mainly affects the lungs, and treatment is with antibiotics. A WHO council established to facilitate the development and equitable use of new vaccines met for the first time this week.

A personal commitment

Stamping out the TB epidemic is among the health targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the roadmap for a more just and green global future by the end of the decade.

Five years ago, countries set the target of delivering TB treatment to 40 million people, reaching 34 million. They also aimed to provide 30 million with preventive treatment but fell short by half.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed called for action to tackle the main drivers of TB – poverty, undernutrition, lack of access to healthcare, the prevalence of HIV infections, diabetes, mental health, and smoking.

Stigma surrounding the disease also needs to be reduced so that people can get help without fear of discrimination, she added, while governments must ensure universal health coverage that includes TB screening, prevention and treatment.

Ms. Mohammed also shared her own reason for supporting the global fight.

“My commitment is my personal story: losing my father to TB at 50, 37 years ago this week,” she said. “Today we have the tools to diagnose, treat, and what we need right now is a vaccine. Let’s end TB now. It is possible.”

Stigma fuels death

Mongolian author Handaa Rea, who has survived the disease, urged world leaders to “treat TB not only medically but also socially.”

She has written about her own experience of TB-related stigma, discrimination that she said is prevalent in many developing countries, resulting in “hundreds of thousands of people” delaying seeking treatment.

The consequences of stigma are “more enhanced” for women and girls who are held to higher standards of health, well-being and beauty, she added.

“When society says things like ‘she’s too skinny, because she has TB, she’s unworthy of marriage because she has or had TB, or she continues to have TB because she’s irresponsible,’ we as a society are bullying TB patients one step closer to death – a death that is fully preventable. And this has to stop,” she said.

The ‘final chapter’

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus commended the “amazing” energy in the room, where participants frequently chanted “End TB, yes we can!”

He welcomed the political declaration, which was agreed by consensus ahead of the meeting. It will be presented to the General Assembly, the UN’s most representative organ, comprising all 193 Member States.

“For millennia, our ancestors have suffered and died with tuberculosis, without knowing what it was, what caused it, or how to stop it,” he said.

“Today, we have knowledge and tools they could only have dreamed of. We have political commitment. And we have an opportunity that no generation in the history of humanity has had: the opportunity to write the final chapter in the story of TB.”

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