Happy International Youth Day!

National Youth Movement to End TB Launched officially in VietnamOn March 20, 2020, on the occasion of World TB Day, Vietnam National Lung Hospital held a congress of the Youth Society against TB and lung diseases – Vietnam Lung Association. The congress elected 11 young people to represent the youth of the country in the Executive Committee of the Association for the term 2020–2022. This was the official commencement of Vietnam’s youth movement against tuberculosis which is the adoption of the Global Youth Movement against TB at a national level. The event was virtually attended by the Director of WHO’s Global TB Programme, Dr Tereza Kasaeva, who encouraged the youth gathered to instill new vitality in efforts to end TB.The youth movement in Vietnam aims to reach 10 million young people and educate all primary school students with knowledge and good practices on combating TB and lung diseases.NepalThe National Youth Movement against Tuberculosis – Nepal (NYMAT – Nepal) is a good example of youth leadership and engagement in the fight against TB. As a youth network, it provides the opportunity for youth to come to the forefront and join efforts to combat TB. More than 1000 young TB advocates have already joined the National Movement and the number is growing every day. Supporting WHO’s End TB Strategy and the National TB Control program, it aims to foster youth engagement in comprehensive TB related activities conducted within Nepal. With the adoption of the WHO Youth declaration to End TB and WHO’s 1+1 Youth Initiative, the independent youth TB advocates/activists have  been working intensively to increase TB awareness and reduce TB stigma, by advocating at local municipal levels to encourage stronger policies to reduce the TB burden. Recently, youth representatives from NYMAT actively contributed to the development of the upcoming National Strategic Plan, by participating in a consultation organized by the National Tuberculosis Center.