This World TB Day, Results Canada staff, volunteers, partners, and parliamentarians once again came together to shine a light on tuberculosis (TB): a disease that is preventable and curable yet continues to claim over a million lives each year. We are grateful to everyone who took action, raised awareness, and stood in solidarity to call for a TB-free world.
TB is not just a disease, but a reflection of inequality. It persists not because solutions do not exist, but because access to those solutions remains unequal. Ending TB requires sustained advocacy, political commitment, and collective action. This year, volunteers across Canada demonstrated exactly what that looks like.
volunteers in action
We dedicate this year’s World TB Day success to our grassroots: our volunteer advocates and Fellows. Across the country, individuals and groups came together to raise awareness, engage their communities, and call for action to end TB.
Landmarks and monuments across Canada were lit in red as powerful symbols of solidarity, with a record number of over 75 sites participating this year.
From major city landmarks to community spaces across the country, these illuminations reflected a growing national commitment to raising awareness about TB and standing with the millions of people affected by it.
Each light served as both a tribute and a call to action, sparking conversations and reminding people that behind the statistics are real lives impacted by TB every day.
Volunteers also took action by organizing local gatherings in Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Brampton, Waterloo, Victoria, Montreal, and more! They shared messages online and continued their advocacy efforts through meetings, outreach, and community engagement. These efforts highlight the strength of people-powered advocacy and the impact it can have in driving change.
There was also a special event in Winnipeg where we brought together new and returning friends of Results to learn, connect, and take meaningful action on tuberculosis. Thank you to everyone who came!
parliamentarians in action
At a TB Panel reception co-hosted by CAAN and Stop TB Canada, Secretary of State (International Development) Randeep Sarai delivered a compelling reminder of our shared responsibility: diseases know no borders and global health is inseparable from Canada’s own health security.
Emphasizing the importance of coordinated action, Sarai commended advocacy organizations like Results Canada and Stop TB Canada for bridging international and domestic efforts, promoting knowledge exchange, and advancing integrated strategies to eradicate TB while addressing its disproportionate impact on vulnerable and underserved communities.
Member of Parliament Sonia Sidhu stood up in the House of Commons to make a World TB Day statement sharing hopeful news highlighting Canada approving a new drug and advancing research and development for vaccines. She also gave a shout out to the vital work of Results Canada!
partners in action
Ou colleagues at Stop TB Canada celebrated Health Canada granting regulatory approval for rifapentine, a key medication used to prevent TB. This decision marks an important step toward expanding access to shorter, more effective preventive treatment and bringing Canada closer to eliminating this serious disease that disproportionately impacts Indigenous and newcomer communities.
Global Fund Executive Director Peter Sands was in Ottawa to underscore the urgent need to better align global and domestic efforts to end TB, particularly as the disease continues to affect communities in Canada and around the world. He spoke on the above-mentioned TB Panel with representatives from Stop TB Canada and Grand Challenges Canada.
At a packed Civil Society Roundtable we co-organized with CAAN, 35 participants from leading organizations in TB work reinforced a critical message: we have the tools to end TB, we just need the will to get them to those affected. With improved diagnostics, shorter treatments, and promising vaccine candidates on the horizon, science is no longer the barrier. The priority now is ensuring these tools are funded, scaled, and reach the communities that need them most both globally and in Canada. This makes continued investment in TB research and development – and support for organizations working in that space like Unitaid, FIND, and TB Alliance – not only vital but strategically essential.
next steps
Canada recently stepped up with a contribution to the Global Fund, following sustained efforts by our volunteers – but the fight is far from over.
We still need the tools to effectively reach communities in need, both in Canada and around the world. Together, we will continue advocating for stronger investments, particularly in the research and development of tools to prevent, diagnose and treat TB, as well as in building equitable health systems and sustaining global efforts to ensure that no one suffers from a disease that is entirely preventable and treatable.
While World TB Day is an important moment to reflect and mobilize, our work does not end here. Results Canada remains committed to generating the political will needed to end tuberculosis in Canada and globally.
