The 50th Union World Conference on Lung Health was held in Hyderabad from October 30 to November 2, 2019. The Conference theme ‘Ending the Emergency: Science, Leadership, Action’ focused on what is needed to ensure commitments become action and that life-saving targets are met. The conference theme resonated strongly with TB, but it also raises awareness that all threats to Lung Health – TB, Air Pollution, tobacco and many more – are emergencies that the science, leadership and action needs to meet head on. The 50th Union World Conference on Lung Health has witnessed around 4000 researchers, policy makers, global advocates, scientists, health care professionals and affected communities working on all aspects of Lung Health. The conference was inaugurated by the Honorable Vice-President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, who described the theme of the conference – Ending the Emergency – as aptly focusing on what is needed for commitment to become action, so that lifesaving targets can be met.

The Honorable Governor of Telangana, Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan, attended the Opening Ceremony, and spoke of the cruelty of tuberculosis (TB) that she has witnessed in her career as a medical doctor, highlighting the particular suffering of women and children living with the disease in India.

Hollywood film and television actress Ms. Claire Forlani, Ambassador for The Union, spoke passionately about childhood TB, and the need for local interventions using simple tools for active screening and diagnosis to end the epidemic among children.

A supportive letter to the conference from India’s Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi was presented by Dr Jamie Tonsing, Director of The Union’s South East Asia office.

The first ever Survivors Summit was held in Hyderabad, India, prior to the 50th Union World Conference on Lung Health. This entirely peer-driven meeting brought together survivors from over 10 countries, whose lives have been marked by TB, tobacco use, asthma, COPD, and other lung diseases, to harness the power of the community to produce a more coordinated global advocacy effort.

The state of Telangana has taken initiatives in capitalizing on the legacy left by this prestigious congress. Several noted doctors and health experts submitted a memorandum to the Telangana Governor which mentions to implement all the WHO (World Health Organisation) recommended tobacco control strategies (evidence based).

Mr. B.P. Acharya, IAS, Special Chief Secretary, Government of Telangana & Director General, MCR HRD Institute, officially closed the congress with an appeal in a vibrant presentation for all stake holders in Hyderabad, and India in general, to understand the seriousness in creating awareness of this serious, yet curable, disease. He emphasized that the knowledge gained at the 50th Union World Congress on Lung Health may be used as a barometer in the phased eradication of TB in India supporting Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision. A roaring applause acknowledging his passionate appeal reverberated the venue.