Moscow Declaration to End Tuberculosis: global commitment to scale up action

A global conference on tuberculosis (TB) held in Moscow, Russian Federation, on 16–17 November 2017 resulted in a collective commitment to scale up action to end TB with the signing of the Moscow Declaration to End TB.

Global efforts to combat TB have led to significant health improvements. However, progress in many countries has stalled, global targets are off track, and persistent gaps remain in TB care and prevention. TB still kills more people than any other infectious disease. It is the leading killer of people with HIV and is associated with major issues with regard to antimicrobial resistance.

In the Declaration, ministers agreed to minimize the risk and spread of drug resistance and to do more to engage people and communities affected by, and at risk of, TB. This is highly relevant for the WHO European Region, which has the highest multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) rates of all WHO regions. It is also the only region where HIV and TB/HIV coinfection rates have recently increased.

At the core of the Moscow Declaration is the collective commitment to scale up action on 4 fronts that will play key roles in ending TB:

• achieving universal health coverage;
• mobilizing sufficient and sustainable financing to close gaps in implementation and research;
• advancing research and development; and
• building accountability, including through multisectoral approaches.