The first HIV and TB Global Leaders Forum will be held on 9 June in New York. The forum is aimed at emphasising bold leadership in the global fight against HIV and TB and to draw attention to the urgent need for collaboration. TB kills up to half of all AIDS patients worldwide. The outcome of the discussions are anticipated to influence deliberations during the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV and AIDS (UNGASS) which will be held on 10 and 11 June 2008 to review progress and address challenges to universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.

Issues journalists can address:-

• The Global Forum on HIV and AIDS will be held for the first time. Journalists need to disseminate this important information to various publics and explain why it is being held. Every three minutes a person living with HIV dies of TB. There is need to cut the number of deaths from TB among people living with HIV. What needs to be done for this to be possible? Journalists are key stakeholders in preventing these deaths. They need to be at the forefront providing information. TB is curable so people need to be encouraged to go for screening, seek early treatment and adhere to it.

• The HIV pandemic presents a major challenge to the global control of TB particularly with the emergency of drug resistant TB. About one-third of the 33.2 million people living with HIV worldwide are also infected with TB and it is the leading cause of death among PLHIV in Africa and a major cause of death elsewhere.

• HIV and TB are major constraints for socio-economic development. Investing in joint TB and HIV and AIDS interventions, will contribute positively to the achievement of the Millennium development goals on poverty reduction by keeping people healthy and productive. Journalists should therefore emphasise the need for accelerated scale-up of collaborative activities on tuberculosis and HIV.

• There is need to urge all UN member states, intergovernmental, non- governmental, corporate sector, donors and the international community to re-affirm their commitment to the global fight against HIV and TB by committing resources that will go towards fighting the dual epidemic.

• Journalists need to follow up, monitor and assess progress made in addressing HIV and TB. They also need to pay special attention to the commitments that are going to be made during the UNGASS in the fight against TB and HIV and ensure that they are adhered to. There is need to monitor and evaluate progress to ensure that all the commitments made are not just empty statements but various stakeholders take them seriously and put them into practice.

SOURCES

1. Ua2010.org:http://www.ua2010.org/en/UA2010/Universal-Access

2. http://www.stoptb.org/events/hivtbleaders/home.html

3. http://www.stoptb.org/events/hivtbleaders/assets/documents/HIV%20TB%20Global%20Leaders’%20 Forum%202.pdf