Special Envoy addresses Stop TB partners
Stop TB Partnership Coordinating Board meets in Berlin
24 October 2007 -- Berlin -- Dr Manfred Konukiewitz, Deputy General Director at German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, spoke at the opening session of the Stop TB Partnership Coordinating Board yesterday. The two-day meeting, which opened on the day immediately following the European Ministerial Forum on Tuberculosis, also held in Berlin, was hosted by the German Development Bank (KfW). The Board's Chair Irene Koek, chief of USAID's Infectious Disease Division for the Global Health Bureau, presided.
Other items on the agenda included an address by Anna Cataldi, the newly appointed Stop TB Ambassador; and discussions on how Stop TB can work together with global health initiatives to strengthen health systems. Dr Jorge Sampaio, the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy to Stop TB and the former President of Portugal, reported on his recent activities.
On day two of the meeting the Board focussed on overcoming bottlenecks in second-line anti-TB drug procurement, raising funds for TB and the Stop TB Partnership Secretariat Work Plan 2008/2009.
Ministries from 49 countries in the wider European region sign the Berlin Declaration on tuberculosis
22 October 2007 -- Berlin -- Dr Jorge Sampaio, the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy to Stop TB and former President of Portugal was the keynote speaker at the European Ministerial Forum, ‘"All Against Tuberculosis" held in Berlin today. Mrs Ulla Schmidt, Federal Minister of Health of Germany, and Marc Danzon, Regional Director, WHO European Regional Office, also spoke during the opening session of the forum, which was organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) for Europe and the German Ministry of Health.
Representative from ministries of 49 countries attended the forum, which was called on an emergency basis to advance development of a Europe-wide approach to controlling and eventually eliminating TB.
"In our globalizing world, to successfully combat the threat of TB, a common strategy is critical," Dr Sampaio said in his speech, adding that it is vital for "the European Union, as well as other major organizations, like for instance the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Council of Europe, the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation and other fora join forces to address the TB epidemic and face the common threats of the emerging MDR-TB."
The gathered Ministers endorsed the Berlin Declaration on Tuberculosis, which "notes with concern that TB has re-emerged as an increasing health security threat in the WHO European Region" and "recognises that a Europe-wide approach will be key to the control and eventual elimination of TB". The declaration also calls for the adoption of the Stop TB Strategy in all its components, including addressing the funding gap between the total resources available and the resources needed to control TB and accelerate the development of new diagnostics, drugs and vaccines to achieve the 2015 Millennium Development Goal on TB.
"Today, European ministers have demonstrated their commitment to stopping TB," said Dr Marcos Espinal, Executive Secretary of the Stop TB Partnership, Geneva. "Now they must exert leadership on increasing domestic spending on TB. And donor countries that have signed this declaration need to make a stronger commitment to vulnerable neighboring countries that bear a heavy burden of TB by dedicating greater funds and technical assistance. Additionally, it is vital that the Global Fund continue supporting these countries for many more years."
Press release
UN Special Envoy addresses a high-level Washington audience on global TB challenges
17 October 2007 -- Washington, DC -- Dr Jorge Sampaio, the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy to Stop TB and the former President of Portugal, was the keynote speaker today at a policy luncheon organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The luncheon, which was held at the Dirksen Senate Office building, took place at a time when the US Congress is deliberating the 2008 foreign aid funding bill and considering increasing total bilateral TB appropriations for 2008 to $200 million. If approved, the 2008 funding level will be double what the US appropriated last year and would be the single largest commitment in the fight against TB.
"It is gratifying to see the U.S. Congress taking the lead by seeking to double its spending on fighting this deadly scourge," Dr Sampaio said. "In light of the growing problem of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, world leaders are acknowledging the urgent need to step up the global fight to stop TB."
Other speakers at the event, which was entitled "The TB Frontier: New Strategies, HIV Linkages, Threats, and Tools", included Senator Sherrod Brown (Democrat, Ohio); Ambassador Mark Dybul, US Global AIDS Coordinator; Dr Mario Raviglione, Director of the WHO Stop TB Department; Dr Irene Koek, chief of USAID's Infectious Disease Division and Chair of the Stop TB Partnership Coordinating Board; and J. Stephen Morrison, Executive Director of the CSIIS HIV/AIDS Task Force.
Kaiser webcast
Speech of the UN Special Envoy to Stop TB
Stop TB Coordinating Board meets at WHO Headquarters in Geneva
18 April 2007 -- Geneva -- The inaugural session of the Board's meeting opened today with remarks by Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General; Jorge Sampaio, UN Secretary General Special Envoy for Tuberculosis; Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS; and Helen Evans, Acting Executive Director of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Professor Michel Kazatchkine, who begins his duties as the Global Fund's Executive Director on 23 April, also addressed the Board briefly. Irene Koek, chief of USAID's Infectious Disease Division for the Global Health Bureau and current Chair of the Coordinating Board, presided. This is the first time the Stop TB Partnership Coordinating Board has met at WHO Headquarters and also the first time a WHO Director-General participated in the board's meeting.
More details
Read the Director-General's speech
Read Dr Jorge Sampaio's speech
Read Mrs Helen Evans' speech
Read Dr Peter Piots' speech
Special Envoy on TB addresses European parliamentarians
10 April 2007 - Brussels -- UN Secretary General Special Envoy on TB and former President of Portugal Jorge Sampaio spoke before the Development Committee of the European Parliament.
Read the speech.
Secretary-General Meets Special Envoy to Stop TB
8 February 2007
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (left) meets with Jorge Sampaio, Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Stop TB and former President of Portugal, at UN Headquarters in New York.
U.N. Special Envoy to Stop TB visits Geneva
2 February 2007
United Nations Secretary General's Special Envoy, former President of Portugal, Jorge Sampaio visited Geneva 29th-30th January 2007. He met with the Director General of the World Health Organization, Dr Margaret Chan, UNAIDS Executive Director, Dr Peter Piot, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Mr António Guterres, the Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Mr Markku Niskala, and other Stop TB Partnership Partners. Discussions were productive and included identification of specific next steps to move forward the agenda on TB control in light of several threats including the HIV-TB co-epidemic and extensively drug resistant TB ( XDR-TB). The Special Envoy was accompanied in his meetings by Director Stop TB Department Dr Mario Raviglione and Executive Secretary Stop TB Partnership Dr Marcos Espinal.
Statement from the UN Special Envoy to Stop TB on World AIDS Day 2006
30 November 2006
World AIDS Day (1 December) is an occasion to acknowledge the incredible progress made towards ensuring access to life-saving anti-retroviral therapy, ARTs. But this promise of life of ARTs will be undermined if we do not ensure that a curable disease like TB is addressed effectively.
TB is the leading cause of death amongst people living with HIV/AIDS. The lethal combination of the two diseases makes it imperative that AIDS and TB programmes in affected countries work in close collaboration.
The recent identification of extensively drug resistant TB, XDR TB, and its devastating impact amongst those with HIV demonstrates the deadly synergy between these two diseases. It demands massive new investment to strengthen the current systems for TB treatment and hasten the development of new TB tools and the urgent implementation of national TB-HIV policies.
We need to start working on tomorrow's solutions today. It's time to do it right, to do it now and to do it together.
President Jorge Sampaio
UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy to Stop TB
Jakarta, Indonesia.
Sign the Call to Stop TB to support the fight against TB/HIV.
Special Envoy announces World TB Day theme
1 November 2006
"TB anywhere is TB everywhere - this is the chosen theme for World TB Day 2007", declared UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy to Stop TB, former Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio, at the inauguration of the 37th Union World Conference on Lung Health, in Paris. President Sampaio spoke about global responsibilities in investing in the health workforce, addressing one of the greatest challenges for TB control and for the Millennium Development Goals in general.
World TB Day, falling on 24 March each year, builds public awareness that TB remains an epidemic in much of the world, and leads to the deaths of 1.7 million people each year, mostly in the developing world. World TB Day 2007 will mark the 125th anniversary of Robert Koch's discovery of the TB bacillus, and events around the world will commemorate this day.
Special Envoy pursues his fight against TB
24 October 2006
UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy to Stop TB, Jorge Sampaio, is actively pursuing his efforts to place TB higher on international political and development agendas and to encourage countries to fund and implement the Global Plan to Stop TB (2006-2015). On 12 October, Dr Sampaio met with Mr Barroso, President of the EU Commission, to encourage EU leadership through support of the Global Plan. The Special Envoy then gave an opening address at the European CEO Summit on Business and AIDS, promoting improved collaboration between TB and HIV/AIDS programmes, and opportunities for private sector involvement in the TB fight. The Special Envoy has also been in discussions with Enrique Iglesias, Secretary General of the Ibero-American Community, to increase TB control activities and funding in Latin American countries.
UN Special Envoy to Stop TB says "I consider that my action has to focus on African region as a priority" in opening address to Heath Ministers attending 56th WHO Africa Regional Committee
19 September 2006
UN Special Envoy to Stop TB, Jorge Sampaio, praised the commitment being shown today by African leaders engaged in the fight against TB during an opening address at WHO's 56th Africa Regional Committee in Ethiopia on 28 August. Dr Sampaio, the former President of Portugal, who was appointed Special Envoy in May this year, was invited as a keynote speaker at the personal request of WHO Regional Director, Dr Luis Samba. At the Regional Committee meeting last year, African Health Ministers declared TB a regional emergency. Referring to this historic declaration, Dr Sampaio urged Health Ministers to develop without delay the national emergency plans required to combat the TB epidemic. "The challenge to all concerned with the TB epidemic - patients and their families and communities, governments and authorities of TB-burdened countries, health organizations and donors - is to articulate and embrace the commitments and extra actions that will be required to successfully control TB."
During bilateral meetings with Health Ministers, Dr Sampaio also discussed what needs to be done to achieve the 2015 UN Millennium Development Goal related to TB, targets outlined in the Stop TB Partnership's Global Plan 2006-2015, and key components of the Stop TB Strategy relevant to Africa. Critical requirements include strengthening health systems, overcoming the lack of human resources, and addressing TB/HIV through the implementation of collaborative joint activities.
Talks were also held on the development of effective TB prevention campaigns and the need to increase access to anti-TB drugs through mechanisms such as the Global Drug Facility. In a speech that was warmly received by all delegates, Dr Sampaio finished by pledging to continue calling for new and additional resources for TB control in Africa, and encouraging greater national and international commitments to the global TB fight.
Read his opening address to Heath Ministers attending 56th WHO Africa Regional Committee
UN Secretary-General appoints Former Head of State as first Special Envoy to Stop TB
11 May 2006
New York - In an important landmark for TB advocacy, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed today former President of Portugal Mr. Jorge Sampaio as the first Special Envoy to Stop Tuberculosis. Mr. Sampaio, whose appointment takes effect immediately, will work with the Stop TB Partnership to place TB higher on international political and development agendas. He will also work to build strong commitment for the Global Plan to Stop TB to achieve the TB Millennium Development Goal and save an additional 14 million lives from TB by 2015.
Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
Secretary-General appoints former President
Jorge Sampaio of Portugal as first Special Envoy to Stop TB
The Secretary-General has appointed Mr. Jorge Sampaio, the former President of Portugal, as his first Special Envoy to Stop Tuberculosis. Mr. Sampaio, whose appointment is effective today, will work to build heightened awareness of this leading killer of our time. His immediate task will be to encourage world leaders to strengthen their commitment to TB control, and to work to reach the Millennium Development Goal of halting and beginning to reverse the incidence of the disease by 2015.
Some 5,000 people die of tuberculosis every day, and more than eight million new cases are detected annually. Mr. Sampaio will lead the call for countries to fully fund and implement the Global Plan to Stop TB 2006-20015, which was launched earlier this year. The Plan sets out actions required to treat and cure 50 million TB patients, and save 14 million lives. Mr. Sampaio will work closely with the Stop TB Partnership and the WHO in carrying out this crucial mission for global health.
Biography details :
Jorge Sampaio was born in Lisbon on September 18th 1939. As a child, due to his father's career as a doctor who specialised in public health, he spent long periods in the United States and in England.
In 1961 he graduated in Law at Lisbon University. He was elected Secretary-General of the Federation of Students Associations in 1961-62. In this capacity he became involved in the student crisis in the early 60s, which led to a widespread revolts against the country's dictatorship regime, and lasted until April 24th, 1974. During this time he took up a legal career and became a Law Association board member, playing an important role in the defence of political prisoners.
In 1969 he was elected to the 'National Assembly' as a member of "CDE" [Electoral Democratic Commission], opposing the dictatorship in force and participating in the resistance movements.
In 1974, following the April 25th revolution, he became one of the driving forces behind the creation of the "M.E.S.", a socialist left-wing movement, which he later abandoned due to ideological differences.
During the revolutionary years, he played an important role in promoting dialogue with the moderate wing of the Armed Forces Movement and actively supported the positions of the "Group of Nine", who played a key role in the transition to democracy. In March 1975 he was appointed Deputy Minister for External Co-operation in the IV Provisional Government. The same year, he founded the "Socialist Intervention", an association of politicians and intellectuals who were to play prominent roles in public life. In 1979 he was elected to Parliament and became a member of the National Secretariat of the Socialist Party.
From 1979 to 1984 he was a member of the European Human Rights Commission of the Council of Europe where he played an important role in defending fundamental rights and in contributing to a more dynamic implementation of the principles contained in the European Convention on Human Rights.
In 1989, he was elected Mayor of Lisbon and re-elected in 1993. As mayor, he introduced new concepts and methods for planning, management, integration and urban development.
From 1990 to 1995 he was President of the Union of Portuguese-speaking Cities (UCCLA) and in 1990 was elected Vice-President of the Union of Iberian-American Cities. He was also elected President of the Eurocities Movement (1990) and President of the World Federation of United Cities (1992).
In 1995, Jorge Sampaio stood for President or Portugal and was elected on the first ballot and sworn in as President in March 1996. He was re-elected five years later in 2001.
In 1991 he published a collection of his political essays entitled "A Festa de um Sonho". Four years later, he published "Um Olhar sobre Portugal", setting out his views on social issues. In 2000 in his book "Quero Dizer-vos", he presented his views on the challenges facing Portuguese society. At the end of his second presidential term of office in March 2006, he published "With the Portuguese People" - a series of excerpts from his speeches on a variety of subjects.
During the last decade, President Sampaio has made important contributions to several issues related to the European affairs, and to almost all the challenges currently facing the international community, including HIV-AIDS, drugs, children, human rights and independence for East Timor.
Special Envoy focal point at the Stop TB Partnership:
Vittorio Cammarota
Email: stoptbspecialenvoy@who.int
Telephone: +41 22 791 5549
Fax: +41 22 791 4886
