Kathmandu, September 26

The Ministry of Health and Population and World Health Organisation, Nepal organised the lighting ceremony of two important UNESCO heritage landmarks of Nepal — Patan and Kathmandu Durbar Squares — today.

The campaign marks the first ever United Nations High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis today in New York, which will set pathway for an accelerated and coordinated response to save millions of lives and prevent TB — a commitment towards a world free of the disease by 2030, said WHO.

The ‘Light up the world in RED to End TB’ ceremony was inaugurated by dignitaries from MoHP and WHO, Nepal. The dignitaries inaugurated the lighting ceremony at Patan Durbar

Square first, and then proceeded towards Kathmandu Durbar Square.

With this historical event for a huge global momentum for ending TB in the world, the two important UNESCO heritage landmarks of Nepal will also join the global cities that will participate in the campaign.

Dignitaries from MoHP, TB survivors, affected communities, technical partners, researchers, private sector representatives, and other key stakeholders are attending the New York meeting to put TB in the spotlight. This is the first time TB has been addressed in the UN General Assembly, with the theme ‘United to End Tuberculosis: An Urgent Global Response to a Global Epidemic’, strengthening the global momentum to end TB.

This is the biggest opportunity to raise significant political priority for TB which will lead to a political declaration endorsed by the head of states, according to WHO.