This technical briefing organized by WHO headquarters and WHO/Europe aims to inform countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia about recent developments involving the Global Tuberculosis Vaccine Accelerator Council, the role of novel tuberculosis (TB) vaccines in TB prevention and the global pipeline of novel TB vaccines. The session will highlight opportunities for country engagement and outline next steps for strengthening preparedness, policy dialogue and coordination to accelerate the introduction of novel TB vaccines across the Region, when available for rollout.
National stakeholders from TB and immunization programmes, health ministry officials involved in policy, planning and vaccine introduction, national immunization technical advisory group members, and representatives of academia, civil society, national immunization and partner organizations are encouraged to participate. The briefing will combine short technical presentations with moderated discussion. Participation is limited to registered participants. The working language will be English, with simultaneous interpretation into Russian.
To learn more and register, please use the link below.
Background
TB continues to be a major global health crisis. In 2023, TB once again became the leading infectious disease killer, with 8.2 million newly diagnosed cases and more than 1.2 million deaths. Existing tools, including the century‑old Bacillus Calmette–Guérin vaccine, remain insufficient to curb transmission, which primarily occurs among adolescents and adults. Scientific advances during COVID‑19 demonstrated that vaccines can be developed, manufactured and rolled out rapidly when political prioritization, financing and coordinated partnerships are in place. Recognizing the urgent need for similar coordinated mechanisms for novel TB vaccines, WHO announced the establishment of the Tuberculosis Vaccine Accelerator Council on 17 January 2023.
In the WHO European Region, countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia carry most of the Region’s TB disease burden, including the highest levels of multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant TB globally. Any regional preparedness for the introduction of novel TB vaccines, once recommended by WHO, must therefore prioritize these countries, where the impact of introducing new TB vaccines would be greatest. WHO has emphasized the need to support countries with the highest burden and transmission levels, making countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia critical to regional engagement, readiness assessments and vaccine introduction planning.