The Government of Japan, the World Bank, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, UHC2030, and JICA co-organized the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Forum 2017 in Tokyo on December 12–15, 2017. Taking advantage of that opportunity when political leaders, heads of international organizations, NGO leaders, scholars, and other experts in the fields of global health and development were gathering in Tokyo from all over the world, the Friends of the Global Fund, Japan (FGFJ) co-organized an official side event on the sidelines of the UHC Forum 2017, entitled “Reaching the Underserved and Vulnerable- TB Responses as a Pathway to UHC.”

With the political momentum on UHC rising, this side event explored how the TB response and the strategies to advance UHC can be aligned and leveraged to reach underserved and vulnerable populations and accelerate progress toward UHC. The discussion at this meeting sought to continue strengthening the global advocacy and political commitment on TB and UHC, building on the outcome of the Global Ministerial Conference on TB in Moscow. The outcome of this side event was also intended to contribute to the preparation of the UN High-Level Meeting on TB in 2018. The event reviewed past experiences in TB response and current challenges in countries and communities in Asia, including the example of Japan. It also examined countries’ efforts to lessen the TB patient cost, shared insights from work being done with migrants and other underserved populations, and identified ways in which the TB strategy could align or contribute to the goal of achieving UHC at the country and community levels.

For more information, please visit the FGFJ website.