J&J’s Global Initiatives Improve Disease Detection, Broaden Access

Johnson & Johnson recently announced a series of initiatives in high tuberculosis (TB) burden countries to empower a generation of youth to end TB and increase disease detection.  

The initiatives will support global efforts to help find the millions of individuals living with undiagnosed TB and are part of Johnson & Johnson’s 10-year initiative to help broaden access to its novel medicine for multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and accelerate research to develop more next-generation treatments. 

Johnson & Johnson, the Central TB Division under the Ministry of Health of India, the MTV Staying Alive Foundation, Aquity Innovation, and others will support and engage young people to drive health-seeking behavior, build community awareness, and reduce stigma to boost early TB diagnosis. 

Overall, the initiatives drive progress toward the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal to end the disease by 2030. 

“Young people everywhere are changing the world, and they can change the fight against TB, which continues to be one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases,” Martin Fitchet, MD, head of global public health at Johnson & Johnson, said in the announcement. 

“By harnessing the power of youth in high-burden countries, and recognizing their role as agents of change in their communities, we can ensure no one is left behind, paving the way to a healthier, TB-free generation,” Fitchet continued.  

In 2019, TB killed 1.4 million people, despite it being a preventable and treatable disease. 

Nearly 1.8 million young people aged 10–24, or 17% of the global TB burden, develop TB annually. TB transmission rates in this age group can be up to 20 times higher than other populations due to a wider range of personal contacts outside of the home. 

But still, young people are less likely to seek care due to a lack of awareness of TB symptoms, the stigma associated with the disease, and structural barriers to access complex health systems. 

Most recently, Johnson & Johnson introduced its DR-TB Lifeline QuickFire Challenge to support five organizations that ensure continuity of care for drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) patients in India, the Philippines, South Africa, and Ukraine.  

Anna Caravaggio, vice president of global public health franchises at Johnson & Johnson, emphasized that everyone must bring TB out of the shadows and address the biggest barriers that prevent people from seeking care to build a world without the disease.