The Union has recently launched the 50th Union World Conference on Lung Health which will be held at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre, Hyderabad, from 30 October- 2 November 2019.

The conference theme, Ending the Emergency: Science, Leadership, Action, focuses on what is needed to ensure commitments become action, and that lifesaving targets are met.

“It’s time to end the global TB emergency and that will mean holding governments accountable to the Political Declaration they signed at the UN meeting,” said José Luis Castro, Executive Director of The Union. “In Hyderabad we need to be seeing signs that we are seeing real leadership that is translating into both investment in diagnostic tools, new drugs and a vaccine and action on the ground.”

As host country to the conference, India provides a unique backdrop to discussions on ending TB and lung disease with the current highest burden of TB in the world – one in four people infected with TB globally live in India. In 2017, 2.74 million people fell ill from TB, and 421,000 died from it. Rising rates of TB and diabetes co-infection are also causing great concern. The Indian government has pledged to eliminate TB by 2025.

The 50th Union World Conference on Lung Health, Ending the Emergency: Science, Leadership, Action will bring together an expected 6,000 researchers, policy makers, global advocates, scientists, healthcare professionals and affected communities working on all aspects of lung health.