On November 3rd 2015, KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation signed the Bali Declaration, at the close of the first Global Summit on Diabetes and Tuberculosis: “Stopping the looming co-epidemic”.
“Of course KNCV signed the declaration!” said Kitty van Weezenbeek, CEO of KNCV. “We are committed to joining forces with our diabetes colleagues in countries that face a high burden of both diseases. This summit brought together world leaders in TB and diabetes, and the conclusion is clear: diabetes and TB are an unfortunate but frequent match. In some countries one in four TB patients have diabetes as well. Or even more! And these diseases do not go well together! We can prevent many deaths through screening and patient-centered service treatment delivery. In addition, KNCV joins efforts to expand the evidence base for cost-effective interventions to fight this worrisome co-epidemic.”
The Bali Declaration states that:
- Tuberculosis and diabetes represent two of the greatest global health challenges of our time, and their convergence globally represents a looming co-epidemic,
- This looming co-epidemic threatens progress against TB,
- Based on what we have learned from past co-epidemics, particularly TB-HIV, we must act early and decisively to avoid large numbers of avoidable deaths.
More on the Global Summit.
