TB killed 1.6 million people in 2017 — more than 4,000 each day. Among its deadly attributes, TB is the leading killer of patients with HIV and the cause of one-third of all deaths related to antimicrobial resistance, according to WHO.

The pediatric population is one that relies primarily on adults for health advocacy and care, and as such, their protection and medical treatment is an ethical as well as a scientific mandate. Yet despite global improvements in research and disease control, the risk, burden and mortality associated with pediatric infectious diseases remain considerable. “Diseases of poverty,” such as tuberculosis, malaria and HIV/AIDS, continue to take a toll on children in the world’s poorest countries.