To commemorate World TB Day this year, Results Canada staff, volunteers, and partners worked hard to shine a bright red light on tuberculosis (TB) – a disease that is often overlooked and underprioritized. Each year our goal is to build awareness for TB among decision-makers and the general public and to stand in solidarity with the millions of people affected by TB.
The success of this World TB Day could not have been possible without our volunteer advocates. People across the country came together and demonstrated that they care about ending TB. They got 43 landmarks lit up in red, secured 8 mayoral proclamations, wrote letters to the editor, and called for increased investment in ending TB on social media. Groups of volunteers in Ottawa, Montreal, Waterloo, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria, Charlottetown, and Winnipeg got together at illuminated landmarks to raise their voices for a TB-free world.
spotlight: volunteer-led outreach event in Calgary
On March 24, the Results Calgary group hosted an information and social get-together to commemorate the day. The group welcomed two healthcare providers to enrich the discussion about TB. Participants took impactful actions together: they wrote letters to the editor and letters to MPs in Calgary and across Canada, advocating for increased emphasis on TB elimination and other aspects of extreme poverty.
volunteers using their voice
Several volunteers used their voices on social media to raise awareness on #WorldTBDay. Here are a few examples: Anita Mark, Can Atacan, Chloe Champion, Riyam and Landon, and Qjiel.
Multiple other volunteers and Fellows were published in the media for World TB Day. Read some of their amazing LTEs:
Results staff were impressed by the dedication that volunteers and fellows showed to World TB Day! To our volunteers – your actions made such an impact.
Results Canada had the honour of supporting the visit of the Executive Director of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Peter Sands, for a whirlwind 24 hours in Ottawa. The Global Fund is crucial in the fight to end TB – it provides a considerable 76% of all international financing for TB.
Not only did Sands speak at our World TB Day parliamentary reception and to the Global Cooperation Caucus, as you’ll see below, but he also joined Global Affairs representatives at a civil society roundtable that we co-hosted. Here, Sands discussed the importance of effective engagement with civil society in the fight to end TB and other infectious diseases. Several organizations and advocates were present and engaged in a meaningful discussion on the path forward.
The Global Cooperation Caucus
The Global Cooperation Caucus – a multi-party, non-partisan initiative composed of MPs and Senators and supported by Results Canada and ONE – met on March 19 to discuss TB and other infectious diseases that are impacting efforts to end extreme poverty. Global Fund Executive Director Peter Sands joined the caucus to for a discussion about the role of the Fund and Canada’s contributions.
#YesWeCanEndTB parliamentary reception
On March 19, Results Canada staff, volunteers, and partners connected with parliamentarians across party lines to celebrate Canada’s efforts towards TB elimination and discuss what further action is needed to achieve this goal. We would like to thank MPs Ziad Aboultaif, Valerie Bradford, Bonita Zarillo, and Senator Rosemary Moodie for sponsoring the event and speaking to the urgent need for Canada to address the TB crisis at home and abroad. The event highlighted how ending TB is a non-partisan issue – something that everyone should support.
The event featured many powerful speakers, who emphasized that TB anywhere is TB everywhere and if we are to end this disease, we must address its root causes both in Canada and around the world. They included Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund; Margaret Kisikaw Piyesis, CEO of CAAN; and Dr. Uzma Khan, TB researcher and survivor.
We would also like to thank our partners who joined us for the parliamentary reception, including Stop TB Canada, TBPeople Canada, FIND, and the Global Fund. We are grateful to work alongside strong partners in Canada and around the world towards our shared vision of a world free of TB. Thank you to the Results volunteers and fellows who graciously donated their time to speak with parliamentarians about the importance of TB eradication.
raising TB in the House of Commons and Senate
Ahead of World TB Day, parliamentary champions Senator Rosemary Moodie and MP Valerie Bradford raised their voices in the Senate and the House of Commons to call for an end to the tuberculosis epidemic.
While we celebrate the success of this World TB Day, we recognize that there is much still to be done in the quest to end TB and secure health equity for all. Our advocacy is far from over. Results Canada remains committed to generating the political will to end TB at home and abroad. Join us today!
