GlobalPost interviews director of WHO Stop TB Department about future of global response

In an interview with GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog, Mario Raviglione, director of the WHO's Stop TB Department, explains "why the fight against [tuberculosis (TB)] is at a crossroads." Because of advances in diagnostics and treatment, "we have a possibility here of envisioning a much brighter future for TB care and control over the next few decades," he says, according to the interview transcript. "On the other hand, we have a financial gap that we are estimating at about $3 billion out of the $8 billion that are necessary for care and control efforts in countries, plus another $1.4 billion gap in the area of research," he continues. According to the transcript, Raviglione addresses "why the funding gap exists, what would help reduce it, and what's at stake as we choose a path forward" (Judem, 11/1).