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 Who Is Fighting Tuberculosis

 International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD)

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The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease is a non-profit, non-governmental voluntary organization founded in 1920. Its members, organizations and individuals throughout the world are dedicated to the prevention and control of tuberculosis and lung disease, to disseminating information about the hazards of smoking and to the promotion of overall community health.

With the arousal of interest in the prevention and cure of tuberculosis around the turn of the century came the realization that the problem was worldwide. Many attempts were made in different parts of the developed world to organize a concerted attack on the problem and explore what could be done to fight the disease. Congresses and conferences were held, and voluntary associations with an international interest were set up. The result of these first assemblies was the formal organization, in 1920, of a body called the International Union against Tuberculosis.

The purpose of the union was twofold:

  • to provide a forum where doctors and scientists from many countries could meet and exchange information and ideas on the most modern methods of fighting the disease
  • to encourage the formation of voluntary associations aimed at stimulating people and governments to undertake active tuberculosis programs.
-- modified from Wherrett in The Miracle of the Empty Beds, 1977.

Visit the IUATLD Home Page at http://www.iuatld.org