Editor,
On March 24th, landmarks across our country will be illuminated in red, to bring awareness to World Tuberculosis Day and the devastating impacts of the disease. Tuberculosis (TB), despite being curable, is still one of the deadliest infectious diseases worldwide, claiming approximately 1.4 million lives per year, 200,000 of which are children.
Like many infectious diseases, TB disproportionately affects those living in low- and middle-income countries, as well as Indigenous and newcomer communities in Canada. Further, exacerbated by the depletion of health resources from the COVID-19 pandemic, TB deaths have risen for the first time in decades.
However, this crisis is solvable. If a greater number of high-income countries started to meet their investment goals for TB research and treatment accessibility, TB could be effectively eliminated, and millions of lives could be saved.
Thus, on the 24th, as Canadian skies are filled with a red glow, our members of parliament must begin to reaffirm Canada’s commitments to ending TB by investing in proven mechanisms, including research and development, TB REACH, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Garrison Dyck,
Edmonton, Alberta
