Tuberculosis in the Americas. 2019 Regional Report

ABSTRACT

Tuberculosis is one of the ten leading causes of death worldwide, and still represents a major public health problem in the Region of the Americas. The Region has made great strides in TB prevention and control; nevertheless, at the current rate of decline in the number of TB deaths and incidence of TB, the proposed targets and milestones needed to end TB will not be achieved. Countries must thus ramp up their efforts to meet these targets. Tuberculosis in the Americas Regional Report presents the situation of tuberculosis in the Region, as well as the progress made by countries in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and elimination of TB under the framework of the End TB Strategy, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the commitments made at the high-level TB meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in 2018. Epidemiological analyses and programmatic data provide an overview of the TB situation in the Region, with emphasis on case detection, preventive treatment, treatment outcomes, drug-resistant TB, TB/HIV co-infection, and vulnerable groups, among other aspects. An analysis of TB funding in the Region is also included. The authors hope that this report will facilitate understanding of the situation of TB in the Region and serve as an example for similar country-level analyses, with a view to promoting better decision-making and ending TB.