World Tuberculosis Day in Iqaluit celebrates progress made towards eliminating the disease
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Dr. Ekua Agyemang, Nunavut’s chief public health officer, says it’s possible to eliminate tuberculosis in the territory by the end of the decade, but it will take more work.
“We can end TB by working together with communities and building strong partnerships,” Agyemang said. “It’s just a message of hope that it is possible to eliminate TB.”
He said that so far this year, five TB cases have been reported in the area, while 26 cases were reported in 2025 and 36 in 2024. In Nunavut, TB cases have been declining steadily through 2023.
Natasha Crowcroft, Canada’s acting chief public health officer, says it’s important to celebrate and highlight the progress being made to eliminate TB in the region.
“We are moving in the right direction and this is a change,” he said. “TB was increasing and now it’s decreasing, and this is gold.”
Crowcroft says the drop in cases is due to all the funding and work being done by NTI and the Government of Nunavut, as well as the communities.
“We need to keep moving forward and keep funding going,” he said. “We are in a financial environment where we need to be very careful with our resources. But the government has put money into TB eradication, particularly in the North, so the money is available.”
In February, the federal government announced it would spend $27 million over five years to support Inuit-led, community-specific efforts to end tuberculosis.
The federal government and ITK have promised to eliminate TB by 2030.
Agyemang says the keys to further reducing cases are public awareness, education and early diagnosis.
“Because of the historical trauma of TB, there is still fear (of the disease),” he said. “There is still stigma around TB and it is important that we come together as communities and help each other understand that if someone has TB in Nunavut today, they should not necessarily be thrown out of the community.”
Agyemang says it is possible to eliminate TB by 2030, but eliminating the disease will require different sectors such as housing, food security, mental health services and health care to work together.
“All those things need to come together to achieve that goal,” he said. “As long as we can identify TB before it becomes highly contagious and gets expressed to other people, it means it can be controlled.”
