Moscow Declaration

In November 2017, health ministers, NGOs, and private sector representatives from 120 countries have adopted Moscow Declaration on the sidelines of the first WHO Global Ministerial Conference.

The declaration calls for eliminating additional deaths from HIV co-infection by 2030 and achieving synergy in coordinated action against Tuberculosis and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). India is among signatories to the declaration. A co-infection is when a person suffers from two infections at same time.

Key Facts

Moscow declaration emphasis need for fixing multisectoral responsibility towards ending TB by 2035, the global target. It recognises need for multisectoral accountability framework to end TB, which is both political and technical.

This framework is critical to creating enabling operational environment for multisectoral action, fast-tracking priority interventions, monitoring overall progress, and accelerating advocacy at all levels within different sectors, all of which is necessary to achieve committed milestones and targets to end TB epidemic.

Multi-drug resistant TB will be tackled as national public health crisis. National inter-ministerial commission will be set up by 2018 to achieve fast-tracking universal access to health care through all state and non-state care providers by adopting WHO-recommended TB diagnostics, drugs, technologies and standards of care. It will also ensure attention to high-risk groups and vulnerable populations such as migrants, refugees and prisoners.