How to Prevent TB in Children and Adolescents: Effective Measures

More than 1 million children under 15 years fall ill with TB every year, over half of whom are not diagnosed and/or not reported.  Due to a lack of a sensitive diagnostic test and limited diagnostic capacity in the locations where they seek care, the proportion of these "missing children" is highest among the youngest of them. In addition, TB preventive treatment is only given to one-third of eligible child household contacts of TB patients. The UN High-Level Meeting on TB's political declaration includes global goals to accelerate action to treat and prevent TB in children and adolescents. WHO, UNICEF, and other partners in the Child and Adolescent TB Working Group launched a Roadmap with ten key actions to assist countries in scaling up their efforts. WHO collaborates with nations to incorporate the key actions into their national strategic plans and funding applications, accelerating its adoption through global and regional consultations. WHO encourages the development and rapid uptake of child-friendly formulations of TB drugs, including shorter preventive treatment options.
 The World Health Organisation (WHO) uses the 1+1 initiative to get young people to spread the word about TB and push for more money and more responsibility to stop it. In March 2022,