World TB Day Event Emphasizes Border Issues in the Americas

March 17, 2002

"When HIV and TB Collide"
The TB Alliance recently participated in a Global Health Council event in Miami, Florida, called "When HIV and TB Collide" highlighting the connection between TB and HIV by examining cross-border health issues between Latin America and the United States.

The event sponsors included, among many others, the American Lung Association, the Global Health Council, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The forum was supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation.

One-third of the world is infected with the TB bacillus, including 15 million Americans. Worldwide, 2 - 3 million people die every year of TB and it is the leading killer of people with HIV/AIDS. Florida continues to rank among the top four states in the U.S. in the number of reported cases of TB. Specifically, the purpose of this forum was to:

  • Describe the impact of TB in south Florida and at the global level.
  • Discuss the impact of HIV/AIDS on the spread of TB.
  • Highlight the role of existing strategic partnerships focused on combating TB/HIV co-infection in south Florida and globally.

CEO Dr. Maria C. Freire, one of the featured speakers at this event, soon after co-authored an op-ed entitled "Join Fight Against Tuberculosis, Here and Abroad," and was published in The Miami Herald.