Lt. Governor Talauega Eleasalo Ale delivered the keynote address at the opening of the annual conference of the Pacific Islands Tuberculosis Controllers Association this morning at the Fatuoaiga Auditorium.
He welcomed the participants from the US Pacific territories and Freely Associated States, and the Republics of Palau and the Marshall Islands, as well as officials from the US Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, Pacific Islands Health Officers Association and Mayo Clinic. 
The leader of the Catholic Church in American Samoa Bishop Kolio Etuale Tumanuvao offered the invocation and prayed for the successful outcome of the conference. He recalled a message from Pope Francis, whom he first met recently in Rome about never giving up hope.
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American Samoa currently has four active cases of Tuberculosis.
In his remarks at the opening, Lt. Governor Talauega said while this is a low number, American Samoa‘s goal is to eliminate TB all together.
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Each of the jurisdictions attending the conference gave status reports on Tuberculosis in their countries, their successes and challenges.
