The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Tuberculosis (TB) services has brought the urgency of vaccine development efforts into sharp focus.
WHO’s Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, announced the plans to establish a new TB Vaccine Accelerator Council at a high-level panel on TB at the World Economic Forum.
Ghebreyesus said the council would facilitate the licensing and use of effective novel TB vaccines catalysing high-level alignment between funders, global agencies, governments and end users in identifying and overcoming barriers to TB vaccine development.
According to him, despite countries making bold commitments to end TB by 2030, in the Sustainable Development Goals, the WHO end TB Strategy, and the 2018 political declaration on the fight against TB the epidemic showed no sign of slowing down.
He said in 2021, approximately 10.6 million people fell sick with TB, and 1.6 million died.
He said drug-resistance continued to be a major problem with close to half a million people developing drug-resistant to TB every year and Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is currently the only licensed TB vaccine.
Ghebreyesus said study suggests that every 1dollar invested in a 50 per cent effective vaccine could generate an economic return of US$ 7 in terms of averted health costs and increased productivity.
He said later in 2023, Heads of States and Governments would meet for a second United Nations High-Level Meeting on TB to review progress against commitments made in the 2018 political declaration.
According to him, this presents an important opportunity to correct setbacks in the TB response, which includes the urgent development and delivery of new TB vaccines.