Foreword

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development envisions sustainable development grounded in international human rights standards, placing equality and non-discrimination at the centre. Consistently, “Leave no one behind” is one of its three guiding principles, voicing the commitment of all United Nations (UN) Member States to reduce inequalities and vulnerabilities that undermine individual potential and humanity as a whole.
Tragically, as the world combats the COVID-19 pandemic, the global displacement crisis due to conflict, poverty, and changing climate continues a decade long upward trajectory. Among the most vulnerable are millions of refugees, internally displaced persons and all other people experiencing humanitarian emergencies.
Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the leading infectious diseases causing millions to fall ill and lose their lives annually. Refugees and other populations in humanitarian settings face substantial threats to health and survival, such as poverty, crowded living conditions, undernutrition and poor access to health services – all conditions in which TB transmission thrives.
This guide is a joint effort of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Health Organization (WHO). It includes new strategic approaches, guidance and innovations for TB prevention and care interventions in humanitarian settings. Further, international research and global digitalization have accelerated the way in which scientific evidence informs practice, making it impossible to develop a single, easy-to-consult field publication that would not become quickly obsolete. For this reason, the guide focuses primarily on managerial/organizational aspects of TB interventions, and provides links to the most updated references for the clinical aspects. We hope this guide can serve as a useful tool in humanitarian settings to alleviate the suffering and deaths caused by this preventable and curable disease, especially for refugees and displaced populations in humanitarian settings.