Cablegate: International Union's Lung Conference - Punching Above Its
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Lucia A Keegan 11/14/2006 10:12:36 AM From DB/Inbox: Lucia A Keegan
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UNCLAS PARIS 07318
SIPDIS
cxparis:
ACTION: SCI
INFO: ESCI ECON AMB DCM ECSO ENGO LABO SCIO AMBO
UNESCO AGR POL
DISSEMINATION: SCIX
CHARGE: PROG
APPROVED: SCI: RDRY
DRAFTED: SCI: KMKATZER
CLEARED: NONE
VZCZCFRI970
RR RUEHC RUEAUSA RUEHPH RUEHZN RUEHSA RUEHTN
DE RUEHFR #7318/01 3131050
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 091050Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2996
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHDC
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA
INFO RUEHZN/EST COLLECTIVE
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 1219
RUEHTN/AMCONSUL CAPE TOWN 0159
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 007318
SIPDIS
STATE FOR G, OES, OES/IHA, EUR/WE
STATE PASS USAID FOR GLOBAL HEALTH
HHS FOR STEIGER/SAWYER
PRETORIA/CAPETOWN FOR ECON/ESTH
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TBIO KHIV KFLU FR
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL UNION'S LUNG CONFERENCE - PUNCHING ABOVE ITS
WEIGHT
REF: (05) PARIS 7328
1. SUMMARY: The International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung
Disease convened the 37th Union World Conference on Lung Health from
October 31 to November 4, 2006 in Paris, France. The Union's annual
conference is the world's premier meeting of tuberculosis and public
health experts dedicated to reducing the burden of disease and
strengthening health systems in low-income countries. This year,
over 2,100 participants from 125 countries attended the conference
and shared their experiences and addressed the conference theme of
"Strengthening Human Resources for Better Lung Health." END
SUMMARY.
2. As a reflection of the complexity of global health challenges,
the issues discussed at the conference extended beyond tuberculosis
(TB) to include: extensive drug resistant tuberculosis (XDRTB); the
HIV/TB co-epidemic; the impact of increased tobacco use in
low-income countries; the destabilizing potential of an Avian
Influenza epidemic; and the human resources challenges facing health
care providers in high-burden countries. Dr. Jorge Sampaio, the UN
Secretary General's Special Envoy to the Stop TB Partnership and the
SIPDIS
former President of Portugal, was the keynote speaker at the opening
ceremony. Throughout his speech, Dr. Sampaio emphasized the global
responsibility to invest in the health care workforce and urged
donor and recipient countries to elevate this issue to the top of
their public health priorities. In addition to the keynote speech,
Professor M. Kazatchkine (France's Ambassador on HIV/AIDS and
Transmissible Diseases) read a letter from French President Jacques
Chirac welcoming the participants to France and encouraging them in
their efforts to reduce the global burden of disease.
-----------------------------
The crisis in human resources
-----------------------------
3. Over 10 million people die annually from tuberculosis and other
lung diseases, as well as HIV. The majority of this global burden
of disease is centralized in developing countries, where the scale
of the challenges often greatly outweighs the resources available to
address them. For example, Sub-Saharan Africa has 11% of the
world's population and 25% of the global burden of disease, but only
4% of the world's trained health workers and 1% of global health
expenditure. In these countries, health workers struggle with poor
working conditions, inadequate supplies of drugs and equipment,
heavy work loads, long hours, low pay, inadequate pay and the
constant threat of infectious disease. Faced with these conditions,
many health workers leave their professions for different work or
take positions in wealthier countries that offer better
opportunities. Strengthening human resources must be an essential
component in all efforts to combat the growing global disease
burden, highlighted a number of conference speakers.
-----------------------------------------
The emergence of extensive drug-resistant tuberculosis
-----------------------------------------
4. The consequences of inadequate efforts in TB control are evident
in the emergence of XDRTB, a virtually untreatable form of TB, in
several countries including South Africa, Russia, Latvia and the
United States. A special session of the conference was devoted to
this topic and featured an international panel of experts and former
patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDRTB). In
addition, the conference schedule included a post-graduate course, 3
symposia and several presentations and posters that addressed the
links between MDR and XDRTB, HIV and human resources development.
--------------------------------------------- --
Tuberculosis and HIV: two diseases, one health system
--------------------------------------------- --
5. The challenges presented by the HIV and TB co-epidemic
maintained a high profile throughout the conference. A combination
of post-graduate courses, symposia, posters and plenary sessions
presented the latest research and facilitated discussions on
treatment options for co-infected patients, ARVs, TB diagnostic
challenges for HIV+ patients, community advocacy, policy
implications and barriers to implementation for integrated TB/HIV
care.
6. The 38th Union World Conference will be held from 8th - 12th
November 2007 in Cape Town, South Africa. The theme of next year's
conference will be: "Confronting the Challenges of HIV and MDR in TB
Prevention and Care."
7. COMMENT: Due to the proliferation of lung disorders world-wide
and their increasing complexity, this conference has taken on
increasing importance in recent years. Organized by the
International Union against Tuberculosis and Lunch Disease, a number
of officials, epidemiologists, and clinicians in the U.S. public
health system provided their knowledge and expertise to make this
conference a success for health practitioners and policymakers from
the hard hit countries in the developing world. The International
Union, with help from its friends, definitely punches above its
weight. END COMMENT.
STAPLETON