Target Populations

• TB infection in children younger than five years is always recently acquired, and recent infections have a higher likelihood of progression to disease than infections acquired less recently;
• Children have an increased risk of developing severe TB with sequela (e.g., meningitis and disseminated disease);
• Children have more years at risk for the development of TB than adults, and children tolerate treatment for TB infection better than adults.
• By keeping children healthy and allowing them to prosper and go to school, we’re helping families avoid the catastrophic cost of TB.

Over the past 40 years, an HIV diagnosis has evolved from being a death sentence to a chronic condition that can be managed and treated. However, people living with HIV are still dying from TB at alarming rates. HIV weakens the immune system, increasing the risk of progression from TB infection to active TB. TB is the leading cause of death among people living with HIV, contributing to about one-third of all HIV-related deaths—approximately 400,000 annually.

People living with HIV are 20 to 30 times more likely to progress from TB infection to active disease compared to those without HIV.