On 22–23 May, the regional tuberculosis (TB) programme of the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean held a virtual consultative meeting in order to support countries of the Region prepare for the second United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis in September 2023. Countries will be reporting on progress towards achievement of the targets set out in the 2018 Political Declaration, WHO’s End TB Strategy and the Sustainable Development Goals, and also on the challenges that they have faced.

The meeting brought together representatives of national TB programmes, partners and WHO staff from headquarters, the Regional Office and country offices to:

discuss progress made by countries towards the targets set out in the 2018 Political Declaration;

present an overview of WHO’s operational guidance on TB multisectoral approach to accelerate implementation of the Multisectoral Accountability Framework for TB at country level;

develop an overview of country plans and preparations for the second high-level meeting;

agree on priority actions to strengthen multisectoral approaches, reduce donor dependency and scale up prevention to end TB as the world’s top infectious killer.

The Regional Office works closely with countries in the Region to support the development and implementation of national TB strategic plans that incorporate the most recent WHO directives and guidance.