WHO's End TB Strategy and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) share a common goal to bring the global tuberculosis (TB) epidemic under control by 2035, but lasting progress towards control targets cannot be made without significant political commitment. Although the global community has faced challenges in building political and donor will dedicated to Tuberculosis, The Global TB Caucus continues to lead significant changes, most recently in Ukraine.
“Ukraine is fulfilling its political commitments on the UN High Level Meeting targets. For this reason, I am doing my utmost to increase the attention of senior officials toward the need to implement a high-level review through multisectoral cooperation and accountability”, shared Hon. Lada Bulakh who is the Head of the Ukrainian National TB Caucus.
Hon. Lada Bulakh, who is also the Head of the Ukrainian TB Platform and the Regional Co-Chair of Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA), pushed a concerted effort in the organisation of the Ukraine Committee of Health's hearing.One of the main outcomes of this hearing was the letter signed by Hon. M.B. Radutskiy, the Head of the Committee of Health in Ukrainain Parliament. It was sent to the Office of the President of Ukraine last March 2021, outlining the following key asks:
Convening an annual high-level meeting on World TB Day at the Office of the President of Ukraine with key stakeholders to discuss accelerating implementation of TB measures and mobilise concrete actions at the national political leadership level
Advocating at the meeting of the Council of Social Development of Regions for the establishment and sustainable local funding of a social support system with regulated standards of social services for TB patients in Ukraine
In response to the Committee’s advocacy activities, the office of President recently responded positively, affirming that the issue to convene a high-level meeting in September to discuss the implementation of measures that will be processed in the prescribed manner: the establishment and regulation of social standards and services, as well as the exploration of sustainable appropriate funding models for social services for TB affected persons will be discussed at an upcoming meeting of the Council for Social Development in the region (see scan of the presidential letter and its english translation below).
Parliamentarians, as elected representatives, act as enforcers of accountability of their governments to citizens. The effective efforts of Parliamentarians in countries like Ukraine demonstrate the influence of parliamentary engagement on the success of national TB responses and their role in ensuring accountability through crucial tools such as the MAF-TB.
We would like to acknowledge and convey our gratitude to Hon. Lada Bulakh and her constituents for this major and leading step.
Below is the presidential letter’s translation in English:
