24 March 2012: The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) commemorated World Tuberculosis (TB) Day on 24 March, under the theme of “Stop TB in my lifetime.” In the Pacific, 16,107 TB cases were diagnosed in 2010, 14,531 in Papua New Guinea and 1,576 in other Pacific Islands countries (PICs).

According to SPC, despite good treatment success rates, TB continues to burden PICs. World TB Day 2012 calls for a world free of TB and encourages community advocating for better vaccines, more effective drugs, and improved diagnosis. SPC indicated that it will continue to work with PICs through capacity building activities and in developing better ways of tackling the disease. The SPC TB Team works in collaboration with national governments, regional partners, and collaborates closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) (Western Pacific Office) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [SPC Press Release]