Remarks by the President of the 78th session of the General Assembly,  

Mr. Dennis Francis,  

at the closing of the High-Level Meeting on the Fight Against Tuberculosis

[As Delivered]

22 September 2023

Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have come to the conclusion of a very successful High-Level Meeting.

As our discussions today have made abundantly clear, the road to ending tuberculosis requires strengthening health systems and multisectoral collaboration to address the key drivers of the epidemic. We also need to strengthen research and development, supported by sustained financing.

I am proud of the progress we have made today:

First and foremost, we approved a milestone political declaration that revitalizes commitments with concrete targets, to ramp up the TB response over the next five years.

We resolved to strengthen political will and promote cooperation with all stakeholders, including private sector and civil society, as we strive to implement a comprehensive people-centred response to ensure universal access to TB prevention and care services, including for children.

We deliberated on leveraging lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic to scale up adequate and sustainable financing for better service delivery, as well as for the research and development of new diagnostics, vaccines and drugs. All of these actions must be based on science, evidence, and best practices.

We promised to integrate human rights and gender-based approaches, and to address stigma and discrimination in all policies and actions towards ending TB.

And we committed to ensuring adequate and predictable financing to sustain our efforts in the long-term.

In addition, we held two very fruitful multi-stakeholder panel discussions.

In panel 1, we recognised that the TB response must be transparent, robust and cover all populations – I repeat, all populations – including refugees and migrants. We heard that accountability mechanisms, including those led by civil society, are essential. We must close the access gaps that have only widened due to COVID-19, conflict and other disasters.

In panel 2, we heard that greater domestic and international investment in TB services, including community-based services, would strengthen both the reach and the quality of care. Political will is an important driver of health financing and engagement with parliamentarians is particularly important in this context.

I commend Member States and stakeholders – including representatives from civil society, academia, researchers, the private sector, and the UN system – for your active involvement.

Your presence has truly energized and enriched our discussions today.

I am encouraged by your inspiring and powerful words, and by your innovative and comprehensive suggestions.

A number of countries shared the progress achieved since the first TB high-level meeting by implementing strong and actionable national strategic plans backed up by adequate funding.

I applaud your commitment.

Excellencies,

Before closing, I would like to thank the co-facilitators, H.E. Mr. Krzysztof Szczerski, Permanent Representative of Poland; and H.E. Mr. Bakhtiyor Ibragimov, former Permanent Representative of Uzbekistan, for their hard work in leading the intergovernmental negotiations for the political declaration.

My deep gratitude also goes to the co-chairs of the two multistakeholder panels – H.E. Mr. Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Minister of Health of Indonesia, H.E. Ms. Karina Rando, Minister of Public Health of Uruguay, H.E. Dr Kalumbi Shangula, Minister of Health, Namibia, and H.E. Dr. Alexandru Rafila, Minister of Health of Romania – for their invaluable contribution and time.

Let us join forces to wipe out this millennia-old killer.

Together, we can end tuberculosis.

We can end [audience: TB]

We can end [audience: TB]

I thank you.