03 Oct Our contribution to the Union World Conference on Lung Health
History will be made later this month in the field of tuberculosis (TB).
The 49th Union World Conference on Lung Health is taking place from October 24-27 in The Hague. It’s the world’s largest gathering of clinicians, public health workers, policymakers, researchers and advocates working to end the suffering caused by lung disease. More than 2,000 delegates are expected to attend from around the world.
For the first time in the history of the conference, TBScience2018 will be held as an official pre-conference at the event. TBScience2018 is devoted entirely to basic and translational research and takes place from October 23 to 24.
The Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development played a key role in organizing the conferences and respective programs. Frank Cobelens, AIGHD Executive Board Chair and member of both the main conference and pre-conference organizing committees, is part of two plenary sessions as part of the event, among other presentations.
“The global effort towards TB elimination is at a crossroads; we have recently seen unprecedented commitments of governments and international organizations to step up financial and political support,” he said.
“Now, it is up to the TB community, including public health specialists, clinicians, scientists and community advocates, to turn this new commitment into concrete action and finally eliminate this deadly disease once and for all. Both the pre-conference and the main conference provide the ideal platform to increase momentum towards this goal.”
As a member of the Union World Conference on Lung Health organizing committee, AIGHD also has a lead role in promoting and organizing the overall conference and supporting the development of the program. A number of AIGHD researchers are also attending, presenting and chairing sessions.
TB is the ninth leading cause of death worldwide and the leading cause from a single infectious agent, ranking above HIV and AIDS, according to the World Health Organization. Infectious disease elimination is one of AIGHD’s research priorities.
Visit the conference website for the full program.