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Bottlenecks from costs to geographic distances make it more difficult for the poor to access health care and add to the problem of multidrug-resistant TB, according to WHO’s Dr Mario Raviglione. He spoke on MDR-/XDR-TB and poverty at Saturday’s plenary session. He reported that there were more than half a million cases of MDR-TB in 2008; and about 10% of them were extensively drug-resistant (XDR-TB). In addition to the plenary session, conference delegates attended a wide variety of symposia, meetings and poster sessions.
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2010: Year of the Lung launched at Sunday’s plenary session with the signing of a declaration by representatives of the Forum of International Respiratory Societies. The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness of the burden of lung disease – which accounts for 7% of all deaths worldwide – and the importance of lung health. Speakers emphasized that we all breathe the same air, but we do not have equal access to treatment.
On Friday, conference delegates took part in post-graduate courses and workshops and visited the exhibition areas. The day culminated in the Opening Ceremony, presentation of awards, and the Welcome Cocktail. Dr Abdo Yasbeck of the World Bank and Dr S Bertel Squire of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine gave opening speeches on the theme of poverty and lung health.
Close to 1800 delegates from around the world are gathering in Cancún, Mexico this week for the 40th Union World Conference on Lung Health. They will participate in a 5-day scientific programme with 100+ sessions focused on the theme of “Poverty and Lung Health”.
