Civil Society & Communities and the UNHLM on TB

Affected communities and civil society have a critical role to play in ensuring the UNHLM process (before, during and after) is inclusive, ambitious and results in the strongest possible political declaration and accountability framework. The Stop TB Partnership firmly believes that people affected by TB and grassroots organizations must be at the heart of all efforts to end TB and are an integral part of the forthcoming UN HLM on TB. To end TB, we need an approach that is people and affected community centered, human rights based and gender sensitive.

For that reason, the Stop TB Partnership facilitated the strategizing meeting of over 70 affected community and civil society advocates in Bangkok in July 2017 and acted on their recommendation to establish a funded Affected Communities and Civil Society Advisory Panel. The panel is co-chaired by Dean Lewis, a TB survivor from India, who works with Touched by TB, ACT Asia-Pacific and GCTA, and Mandy Slutsker from the ACTION Partnership, and is coordinated by International Civil Society Support. The Affected Communities and Civil Society Advisory Panel called for an ambitious UN High-Level Meeting on TB outcome at its first meeting on 10 October 2017 at the 48th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Guadalajara, Mexico. Read more here.

As part of the preparatory process for the UN HLM on TB, and with the support of the Stop TB Partnership and the World Health Organization (WHO) the President of the UN General Assembly will organize an Interactive Civil Society Hearing on 4 June 2018 in New York. The hearing will provide a platform for the inclusive, active and substantive engagement of affected communities and civil society and other relevant stakeholders. Participants will have the opportunity to take part in a day of interactive panel discussions, share practical experiences from their work, and make recommendations towards the UN HLM to support and to inform Member States in the development of the UN HLM outcome document. The President of the General Assembly will prepare a summary of the hearing.