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The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Stop TB Partnership along with the global health research programme- Leaving no-one behind: transforming Gendered pathways to Health for TB (LIGHT) and the Social Sciences and Health Innovations For Tuberculosis (SSHIFTB) virtual center will co-host a webinar on Enabling a Gender-sensitive Response to End TB to mark International Men’s Day.
TB remains one of the top infectious killers in the world, it affects men, women, children and those most vulnerable. Men accounted for 56% of the 10 million people who fell ill with TB in 2020. They are disproportionately at risk of TB, and often struggle to access TB diagnosis, treatment, and care. This International Men’s Day, we are bringing together TB-affected communities and their coalitions, researchers, policymakers, and program implementers, to raise awareness and accelerate action to enable, develop and implement gender-sensitive approaches to end TB.
This webinar aims to:
· To catalyse multisectoral action around developing a gender-sensitive response to end TB by bringing together TB-affected communities and their coalitions, women’s and men’s groups, CBOs, NGOs, organizations & experts working on women and health and men and health, policymakers, and program implementers;
· To explore barriers and discuss solutions for seeking gender-equitable healthcare
· To widen understanding of gender inclusivity in the global response to end TB
BACKGROUND
Gender is one of the important social determinants of health and should be a critical component of strategies to end the TB epidemic. Globally, an estimated 10 million people fell ill with TB in 2020, with men accounting for 56% of those affected. Prevalence surveys indicate an even greater disparity in the underlying burden of disease. Key TB determinants, including diabetes, harmful alcohol consumption, and tobacco smoking, disproportionately affect men. Men’s disadvantage in TB extends to diagnostic and treatment pathways where, relative to women, men have more limited access to timely diagnosis and treatment and a higher risk of treatment failure and death. Most new infections among men, women, and children are likely attributable to contact with men, meaning that men’s excess burden of disease and disadvantages in prevention and care have population-wide implications.
Gender-related barriers to accessing TB services have been identified in 20 countries that have undertaken TB communities, rights and gender assessments, emphasising that we need gender-sensitive interventions that can identify early and successfully treat more men with TB to significantly cut TB transmission in communities, including to women and girls, and further community-led interventions that can rapidly identify and monitor gender-related barriers to services.
LIGHT is a six-year cross-disciplinary global health research programme funded by UK aid, led by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine working with partners in Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda, and the UK. SSHIFTB is a virtual centre focused on social science research and innovation to address the global TB epidemic. Their work includes studying and addressing gendered dimensions of TB using social sciences lenses and approaches.
Download the flyer and promote on social media, here.
