Dear Friends and Colleagues,

In an unprecedented national effort, the Deputy President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa and the Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi today launched the country's biggest ever TB screening campaign that will be rolled-out over five years.

1 December 2014 - Paris, France - Nelson Mandela used to say that we cannot win the battle against AIDS if we do not also fight TB, adding that TB is also too often a death sentence for people with AIDS. On this World AIDS Day -- more than at any other given time -- I want that to be the reminder to the global community.

28 November 2014 - Announcement by Dr Lucica Ditiu, Executive Secretary of the Stop TB Partnership

27 October 2014 - Barcelona - Dr Lucica Ditiu, Executive Secretary, Stop TB Partnership spoke to National Press Foundation, at the 45th Union Conference, in Barcelona, on inadequate funding for TB and the challenge of multidrug-resistant TB.

October 22, 2014 - Geneva/New York - More than a million and a half people die from tuberculosis every year. One third of the world’s population is infected with TB and of those, 10% will develop active TB during their lifetime. TB is airborne and we are all at risk. In spite of these facts, we are fighting TB with archaic tools - we use the same vaccine and drugs that our grandparents did. But there are not enough investments in TB research, to make treatment accessible, drugs cheaper, regimens shorter and diagnostics more accurate.

24 March 2014 - Johannesburg - We are well into 2014 with the 2015 MDG deadline fast approaching. Inventions and innovations, scientific discoveries, incredible advances in technology - even with all this, there are still more than 2 billion people infected with TB in the world and 9 million new TB cases every year. 1.3 million die every year. Sadly, 3 million are missed by health systems and they do not have access to proper diagnosis, treatment, follow up and the care that they deserve and need.