Innovative solutions for the elimination of tuberculosis among refugees and migrants
Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the world’s leading infectious diseases causing millions to fall ill and lose their lives annually. Globally, an estimated 10.6 million people fell ill with TB in 2022, and around 1.3 million people lost their lives to this preventable and curable disease. Migrants, refugees and other populations in humanitarian settings, face substantial threats to health and survival, such as poverty, crowded living conditions, undernutrition and poor access to health services – all conditions in which TB transmission thrives. In a globalized world with increasing levels of geo-political instability, TB is a shared problem for all countries. Global, regional and country efforts to end TB as a public health problem require innovative and people centered solutions which are evidence based. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) End TB Strategy aims to reduce TB deaths, incidence and to eliminate suffering and catastrophic costs that stem from the disease. This report will highlight the challenges and the proposed actions to prevent, manage, and address TB in migrants, refugees, internally displaced persons, and labor migrants.