World Tuberculosis Day 2013: Statement by Professor Mario Raviglione

We are preparing to celebrate World Tuberculosis Day 2013 on 24 March 2013!

Statement by Professor Mario Raviglione on the occasion of World TB Day 2013. Dr Mario Raviglione has been director of the Stop TB Department since 2003. He joined the World Health Organization in 1991 as a junior professional officer sponsored by the Italian Government, to work on TB/HIV and TB epidemiology in Europe.

Opening of the photo exhibition „STOP TB! Tuberculosis - A worldwide menace“ 9th of November 2012

Today we are happy to present you special report from our friend Cordula from Take That TB organization about the opening of photo exhibition dedicated to Tuberculosis! We are highlighting today tuberculosis as one of the dangerous communicable disease, which can be prevented and treated with success!

Tuberculosis is a forgotten illness in Europe. In many other parts of the world this illness is still rife  and shows in connection with AIDS a menace for the world health.  
On the 9th of November 2012 the photo exhibition „STOP TB! Tuberculosis - A worldwide menace“  was opened. It was carried out in cooperation with the stop TB Partnership. 

The exhibition shows impressing photo reports from  photojournalists like Pulitzer prizewinner David Rochkind. They all have documented the situation of tuberculosis patients worldwide for several years. After an introductory talk of the epidemiologist Dr. Stefanie Castell of the Helmholtz centre Braunschweig that inspired the audience by its descriptiveness, possibilities of the fight against TB were discussed with a high-carat occupied panel discussion. During this panel discussion Dr. Peter Reff of the KfW developing bank said, ’It is a scandal that all 20 seconds a person must die because of a remediable illness like tuberculosis. Prof. Dr. Klaus Fleischer of the German leprosy and tuberculosis relief (DAHW) underlined that tuberculosis is above all a poverty illness. Mrs. Diekwisch of the pharmaceutical campaign BUKO and Mrs. Heykes-Uden of the tuberculosis advice centre of the region Hannover agreed that poverty fight, the improvement of the living conditions and access to education are most important components in the fight against tuberculosis.

The appearance of Cordula whose tuberculosis illness was not recognised in Germany more than 15 months by several doctors was very moving. The courageous young woman reported that many doctors did not recognise her illness for a long time and she also talked about unawareness about tuberculosis. Now the young woman fights together with the German leprosy and tuberculosis relief (DAHW) and with her own patient organization for a better understanding and knowledge of the illness in Germany. „ Such cases show us that we must fight for more awareness of tuberculosis in Germany, and our exhibition contributes an important part to it“, both curators Harro Schmidt and 
Dr. Matthias Stehr added.

The exhibition runs from November 10th to December 16th 2012 in the arts centre “Faust” in Hannover. 

Opening hours:
Thursdays + Friday 4pm - 8pm
Saturday + Sunday 2pm - 6pm

Photo exhibition at Hannover: STOP TB! Tuberculosis - A Global Threat

"STOP TB! Tuberculosis - A Global Threat. "Under this title, Kunsthalle Faust, Hannover cooperates with the Stop TB Partnership for the first time. A large selection of photos of the "Images to Stop Tuberculosis Photo Award 'in Europe following the successfully conducted, great photojournalism project (the Stop TB Partnership in Rio de Janeiro) will be shown by the work of five internationally renowned photographer Jean Chung, Sailendra Kharel, Riccardo Venturi, David Roch Child and David Orr. The photojournalists have documented the situation of TB patients worldwide.

Picture by Jean Chung

Showing more than 50 photographic works and four photo stories as a multimedia presentation, the large-size exhibits impressively show the suffering and the hope of the people who are affected by tuberculosis. In the exhibition, unique shots from different countries are shown, which are most affected by the disease, such as India, Nepal, Sudan and Brazil. The representation of a Sudanese boy who is cared for by his parents lovingly or moribund patients in an Indian hospital left a profound and lasting impressions. Other photographs show patients treated successfully and provide unique examples of the perseverance of the individual and the hope for a cure, despite serious illness.

Picture by Jean Chung