Toronto Star: Canada must take the lead in fighting spread of TB, here and abroad
Joe Belliveau, executive director of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Canada, and Jason Nickerson, humanitarian affairs adviser at MSF Canada

“…[W]orld leaders will gather in New York [at the first-ever High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis (TB)] on Sept. 26 to discuss how they can close the global gap in access to TB prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. We are urging Canada to step up and take the lead. … With approximately 1,600 cases of TB reported by health officials in Canada each year, ending this global epidemic is in our own interests. The U.N. High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis is also a tremendous opportunity for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to back up its claims that Canada is a global health and innovation leader. By committing to find new ways of supporting publicly funded research and development that delivers lifesaving technologies to people who need them — affordably, efficiently, and equitably — Canada can match words with action. But first we need to be at the table. Prime Minister Trudeau himself needs to be present in New York on Sept. 26, and show the world that Canada is serious about stepping up in the fight against TB” (9/17).