In 2004, the World Health Organization (WHO) published an interim policy on collaborative TB/HIV activities in response to demand from countries for immediate guidance on actions to decrease the dual burden of tuberculosis (TB) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The term interim was used because the evidence was incomplete at that time. Since then, additional evidence has been generated from randomized controlled trials, observational studies, operational research and best practices from programmatic implementation of the collaborative TB/HIV activities recommended by the policy. Furthermore, a number of TB and HIV guidelines and policy recommendations have been developed by WHO’s Stop TB and HIV/AIDS departments. Updated policy guidelines were therefore warranted to consolidate the latest available evidence and WHO recommendations on the management of HIV-related TB for national programme managers, implementers and other stakeholders.

HIV is the strongest risk factor for developing tuberculosis (TB) disease in those with latent or new Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. The risk of developing TB is between 20 and 37 times greater in people living with HIV than among those who do not have HIV infection. TB is responsible for more than a quarter of deaths in people living with HIV.

Source: WHO. (2010). Guidelines for Intensified Tuberculosis Case Finding and Isoniazid Preventive Therapy for People Living with HIV in Resource Constrained Settings.

TB and HIV co-epidemic is a major public health problem in many parts of the world, particularly in developing counties. We aimed to summarize the prevalence of TB and HIV co-infection in mainland China, using meta-analysis based on systematic review of published articles.

HIV epidemic is the single major reversal in human development in modern history. In most heavily affected countries, HIV has drastically reduced life expectancy even by more than 20 years. The estimated number of persons living with HIV in the world in 2007 was 33 million (30 million –36million).
The highest burden was in Sub Saharan Africa (67%) followed by South and South East Asia.

The global HIV epidemic has emerged as a formidable challenge to public health and development of the SAARC Region too. SAARC Region has an estimated 2.49 million People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) and India alone bears an estimated 2.31 million of that. HIV epidemic in the SAARC Region is
a collection of different epidemics in Member States with their own characteristics and dynamics. The diversity existing in the region needs to be fully addressed and defined, in order to achieve the success in prevention and control activities.