Topic: 2024-Tuberculosis
Country: Venezuela
Delegate Name: Diego Picazo Erb-Downward
The country of Venezuela recognizes that the threat presented by Tuberculosis (TB) amounts to a global health crisis that merits a full UN response. In 2014, the world health organization met to determine how to solve the problem worldwide. They proposed a strategy that would eliminate 95% percent of TB cases by 2035. Venezuela recognizes that we have not made significant strides to solve the problem since, and since the problem has gotten worse in recent years, our nation acknowledges that comprehensive action is required to stop the problem from worsening, and that further action must be taken in order for the WHO to meet its 2035 goals.
In recent years, we have seen a substantial increase in the amount of both TB cases and mortalities. While this increase may be due to a lot of different factors, the Covid 19 pandemic has most directly led to the resurgence of TB, among other diseases. Fortunately, the problem of Covid 19 dropped in intensity over the course of 2023, and we can focus entirely on mitigating the effects of the current TB outbreaks without much concern for Covid 19. In meeting our sustainable development goals for 2030, we must address both the direct increase in TB cases and the socioeconomic causes of outbreaks. To tackle both of these, Venezuela proposes a two pronged approach: The first step will be to increase the availability of frontline TB treatments and tests. The second step will be to encourage countries to invest more in healthcare so that by 2030, the nations themselves will have the resources to solve every outbreak in their country without WHO involvement. This will allow the WHO to focus time and money on eliminating other diseases.
The first step is the most important for eradicating TB. Every TB case cured will prevent at least 12 more future cases. The increase in testing will allow countries to more easily detect TB cases, but nearly a quarter of new TB cases are multidrug resistant TB which ignores frontline treatment. Second Line treatments to cure those cases exist, but are difficult to acquire. Venezuela proposes that the WHO issue a statement encouraging the quarantine of those infected with multidrug resistant TB until such time as second line treatments can be sent to them. In order to increase the availability of both front line and second line treatments, Venezuela proposes that the WHO discuss the lowering of drug prices with pharmaceutical companies.
For addressing the underlying socio economic issues that lead to TB outbreaks, Venezuela recommends a formal recommendation of the UN to work towards solving poverty, however, the WHO is not the best equipped organization to tackle this issue, and venezuela recommends we spend our resources curing diseases and let other UN bodies that are better equipped to solve that solve it.
