On World TB Day 2025, ITK calls for renewed focus on tuberculosis elimination in Inuit Nunangat
Press Release
March 24, 2025
On World Tuberculosis Day, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) marks the significant efforts being made to eliminate tuberculosis (TB) across Inuit Nunangat by 2030, a goal Inuit and the federal government have jointly committed to. As part of that commitment, we have also sought to reduce active TB by 50 percent by 2025, a milestone we fear, unfortunately, is out of reach.
The reported incidence rate of active TB disease among Inuit living in Inuit Nunangat is 300 times the rate among the Canadian-born, non-Indigenous population.
ITK and Inuit Treaty Organizations (ITOs) – Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, Makivvik and the Nunatsiavut Government – have worked diligently to implement the priority actions outlined in our Inuit Tuberculosis Elimination Framework (2018).
An initial investment in 2018 of $27.5 million over five years to support TB elimination, and a reinvestment of $16.2 million for three years, has allowed Inuit regions to increase their capacity to implement regional TB action plans. The funds have been used to implement community engagement activities, increase TB awareness, increase Inuit employment, reduce stigma through health promotion, increase education initiatives as well as to support mass interventions through community screenings. However, TB continues to impose high social and physical costs on Inuit, our families and communities.
Many communities in Inuit Nunangat are experiencing TB outbreaks. Communities are working with health providers to determine the best screening, treatment, surveillance initiatives and access to appropriate medications. Staffing, accommodations, logistics, and space for non-local staff stretches current resources beyond capacity. The need to enhance an Inuit health workforce is key for TB elimination but requires a long-term commitment to training and support. Health information systems are being improved to support TB care and surveillance. Tool kits are being developed to support healthcare providers with the best TB care.
Despite this hard work, these interventions have not been enough. In 2016, the incidence rate of TB was 182.9 per 100,000 people. The most recent available data from 2023 tells us that the incidence rate for TB had risen to 268.6 per 100,000 people. Although there was a commitment for a 50 percent reduction from the 2016 incident rate by this year, increasing rates indicate that the 2025 target will not be met.
Inuit communities are still experiencing COVID-19-related challenges for health and public health resourcing. The pandemic-related priority shifts reduced focus on TB elimination activities and broke momentum, contributing to the rise of tuberculosis seen today.
This year, in light of our collective failure to meet our 2025 target, we call on Canada, and all parties seeking to form government in our next election, to prioritize the shared commitment between Inuit and Canada to eliminate TB by 2030 and identify the funding to achieve this goal. The cost of lost lives, lost productivity and lost opportunities – the cost of inaction – far outweighs the investment required to end this preventable disease
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