NEW YORK, April 22 - The Assembly of First Nations, the World Health Organization and the International Union Against TB and Lung Disease want to make the global crisis of tuberculosis among Indigenous peoples a key issue at the UN. At the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) they will put forward a resolution that seeks to make organizations responsible for monitoring TB accountable to the global community in terms of taking action. Media are also invited to attend a panel where the three groups will address the TB crisis, April 23rd, open at 10:00 am (UN Building - Room 9)

Globally, there were approximately 9.6 million new cases of tuberculosis, in 2006. That same year approximately 1.6 million people died from the disease. Many of these deaths were preventable. It is possible to lower the prevalence of TB by addressing the conditions and factors that cause it to spread - overcrowded housing, poverty, a lack of access to medical care. In Canada TB has been virtually wiped out, except among aboriginal populations where the rates of tuberculosis are 30 times higher than the mainstream Canadian population.

Who: Assembly of First Nations, World Health Organization, Union Against TB and Lung Disease
What: Panel of TB Crisis
When: Panel : April 23rd 10:00 am. Resolution to be introduced April 24
Where: New York, New York (UNPFII) UN Building - Room 9

<<
Fact Sheet

April 2008

Tuberculosis (TB) Information and Prevention

What is TB, what are the causes of TB, and how can it be stopped

TB is passed from person to person by droplets in the air produced when an infectious patient coughs. The newly infected person has few symptoms, and if healthy, the body defends itself by its immune system. But one in ten of those infected will someday become ill usually with TB of the lung, and if unrecognized, may spread the infection to others and possibly die. The disease is easy to recognize by long-standing cough, fever and weight loss. A health worker can easily recognize TB using a simple examination of phlegm from the chest, and a chest Xray. Treatment for six months of daily medicines, if initiated early, can cure almost everyone (90%). Essential to finding and curing the sick is a strong program of TB services within the public health system, well trained health workers, readily available testing tools, free treatment, daily support to help patients take medicines, and careful follow-up, all of which requires government commitment

What makes people vulnerable and who is at risk

People are most vulnerable to new infection when they live in crowded households or shelters in poor communities. One in ten people are likely to develop illness from their infection during their entire lifetime. This increases to every second person among people living with HIV

How can vulnerable people be protected and why doesn't TB go away?

There are four reasons why TB continues to affect us despite the battle that rages against it in Canada and around the world. The first is that we do not pay enough attention to it where communities are vulnerable because they are marginalized (such as with indigenous populations). The second is that the quality of health care is not good, especially in poor countries. The third is that the drugs no longer work because they have been misused in the past due to poor quality health services and the fourth is that living with HIV makes a person much, much more likely to get sick with TB, increasing the strain on health care systems, even when they are of good quality.

What we know about TB in Canada and elsewhere

The chance of getting TB for First Nations and Inuit in Canada is 20-30 times higher than for others born in Canada (and ten times greater than for Canadians as a whole).Similarly in other industrialized countries, indigenous peoples are much more likely to get TB. In developing countries, where everyone is more vulnerable, the rural poor and indigenous communities suffer an even higher burden of TB. Access to high quality tuberculosis care is greatly reduced by poverty, and disparity, and in turn TB disease makes that poverty and disparity worse.

What's in the future for TB?

The STOP TB partnership aims to reach the Millennium Development Goal of halting and reversing the trend in the number of people suffering from TB. Without a complete change in our approach, these targets will not be met. There is an urgent need to engage indigenous populations globally to take charge of their health to stop this neglect.

Facts:

- Globally, in 2006 there were an estimated 9.2 million cases and 1.7 million deaths
- Although programs have been designed to combat tuberculosis, indigenous populations globally have been left out of such efforts, due to, cultural barriers, language differences, geographic remoteness, and economic disadvantages to name a few. Hence, global indigenous populations are at an increased risk of suffering from tuberculosis.
>>

Why we are here?

In order to generate support and awareness for the Global Indigenous STOP TB Initiative, the AFN is leading a delegation of representatives at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), Seventh Session, New York, April 21 - May 2, 2008. The purpose of the lobbying initiative is to support a resolution recognizing the enormous burden TB has on indigenous peoples globally, and the need for a community-based, concerted effort to address this disparity.

A resolution will give voice to an era of Indigenous TB neglect, provide political support to targeted interventions, and create links between the Forum members and global TB expertise. Neglect must end. Stopping TB must be an immediate priority.


For further information: Karyn Pugliese, Health Communications Officer, Assembly of First Nations, (613) 241-6789 ext. 210, (613) 292-1877,