Stop TB Partnership Communiqué
Issue No.29
February 2003

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News from the Stop TB Partnership Secretariat (web site)

Staff changes in the Secretariat

The Secretariat thanks Dr Jacob Kumaresan and wishes him the best for his new career in New York with the International Trachoma Initiative. Best wishes go also to Ian Smith, Medical Officer in the Stop TB Partnership Secretariat, who has joined the office of Dr J.W. Lee, Director-General nominee.

The StopTB Coordinating Board has agreed with the secondment by the International Union Against TB and Lung Diseases (IUATLD) of Dr Nils Billo, Executive Director of the IUATLD, as Acting Executive Secretary of the StopTB Partnership Secretariat until a definitive recruitment has been made for that position. WHO will facilitate the secondment so that Dr Nils Billo can begin to work in the partnership secretariat in early March 2003. We would like to thank the Stop TB partners for their commitment and quick consensus in finding an appropriate solution.

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TB-Related News and Journal Items Weekly Update

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides the TB-Related News and Journal Items Weekly Update as a public service only. (Providing synopses of key scientific articles and lay media reports on TB does not constitute CDC endorsement.) The Update may also include information from CDC and other government agencies, such as background on articles in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), fact sheets, and press releases.

Those interested may subscribe, or change their subscriptions, by visiting the web site http://lists.asciences.com/mailman/listinfo/tb-update.

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Development Marketplace

The World Bank’s Development Marketplace, which seeks to foster innovation and partnerships in development, is sponsoring Country Innovation Days (CIDs). CIDs are "mini marketplaces" for innovative ideas that address local development challenges. Each consists of a competitive, juried process that awards small grants to social innovators and a Knowledge Forum to share ideas and provide networking opportunities. CIDs aim to:

  • identify innovative approaches to alleviating poverty at the most basic grassroots level;
  • mobilize public opinion around key development issues and enhance World Bank engagement with civil society in a country or countries;
  • engage NGOs, government, the private sector, and development agencies in new ideas through partnerships;
  • leverage other resources to broaden partnerships for supporting social entrepreneurs in fighting poverty.

Upcoming CIDs are as follows:

  • Ethiopia/Sudan, 26 February 2003
  • Egypt, 26 March 2003
  • Brazil, April 2003
  • Belarus/Republic of Moldova/Ukraine, 15 May 2003
  • Viet Nam, 15 May 2003
  • Guatemala, 16 May 2003
  • Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan), 21 May 2003
  • Peru, Spring 2003

Further information is available at http://www.developmentmarketplace.org/whatarecids.html.

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News from the Stop TB Working Groups (web site)

DOTS Expansion

Core team

The aim of the DOTS Expansion Working Group core team is to represent the Working Group based at WHO in Geneva and to accelerate its work. During the last teleconference of the core team, the decision was made to extend the term of non-permanent members to 2 years and to include more representatives from high TB burden countries.

Three National TB Programme managers were selected on the basis of regional representation and availability: Dr Rosmini Day (Indonesia), Dr Karam Shah (Pakistan), and Dr Francis Adatu-Engwau (Uganda).

The composition of the core team is now:

Permanent members
- WHO Dr Mario Raviglione, Chair; Dr Léopold Blanc, Secretary; Ms Lisa Véron, Assistant Secretary
- KNCV Dr Jaap Broekmans
- IUATLD Dr Nils Billo

2002–2003 members
- CIDA Mr Joel Spicer
- RIT Dr Masashi Suchi
- USAID Dr Amy Bloom, Dr Clydette Powell
- Kenya Dr Amos Kutwa
- Philippines Dr Jaime Lagahid

2003–2004 members
- Indonesia Dr Rosmini Day
- Pakistan Dr Karam Shah
- Uganda Dr Francis Adatu

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TB/HIV

Workshop on ProTEST Lessons Learned, 3–6 February 2003, Durban, South Africa

The ProTEST Lessons Learned workshop, held 3–6 February 2003 in Durban, South Africa, was attended by some 70 participants, including national TB and HIV/AIDS programme managers, development and technical agency representatives, and ProTEST coordinators. The main objective of the meeting was to document the lessons and experiences acquired through the ProTEST pilot projects in Malawi, South Africa, and Zambia and to translate this knowledge into recommendations for future expansion of collaborative TB and HIV programme activities.

The key lesson from the ProTEST sites presented at the workshop was that collaboration between TB and HIV/AIDS programmes is feasible and helps to improve general health services delivery through capacity development, staff motivation, better referral networks, and more efficient use of resources. The interventions offered in ProTEST – intensified case-finding, IPT, and CPT – are shown to be of individual benefit and should be offered within a package of care for HIV-infected individuals; however, further work is needed to demonstrate the extent of the impact they are likely to have on the TB/HIV burden. A behavioural study is under way, and the cost-effectiveness analysis, although yet to be completed, suggests that the interventions are likely to be cost-effective. Standardised tools for monitoring and evaluation of future TB/HIV collaborative activities were seen as a priority and are under development. The lessons learned presented at the workshop informed the countries on how to develop their own packages of care and prevention within the expanded scope of TB/HIV collaborative activities.

The workshop was coordinated by WHO/HQ and the WHO Regional Office for Africa (TUB & RPA), in collaboration with the South African Medical Research Council, and was supported by the National Department of Health, CDC-GAP, United States Agency for International Development, and WHO.

The presentations given at the workshop are available on the web site http://www.who.int/gtb/TBHIV/Durban_feb03/index.htm; a full report will be made available on the website shortly.

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News from the Global Drug Facility (GDF) (web site)

GDF Applications/Review Update:

The GDF has, to date, received applications from 60 countries of which 39 have been approved for support. We have placed 33 orders for TB drugs. The number of countries which have received deliveries of TB drugs has now risen to 19 whilst the total number of patients approved for treatment stands at 1.8 million.

Preparation for the sixth meeting of the Technical Review Committee, due to take place between 11-13 March, is now well under way. From the African region we have received new applications from Gabon, Benin, Mali and Madagascar. From the Eastern Mediterranean we have an application from Yemen, a country which has previously received GDF emergency support. From the European region, we have received a new application from TFYR Macedonia. Bosnia-Herzegovina and Eritrea, both previously under consideration, will be presented to the TRC as will Côte D’Ivoire, which has, since its previous application, significantly changed its drug request.

The TRC will also be considering monitoring applications for the second year of support from five countries.

The contract between the Philippines and the GDF for the purchase of low cost TB drugs through the Direct Procurement mechanism has now been signed. Ten other countries have expressed an interest in purchasing drugs through the GDF Direct Procurement mechanism.

Consultant’s Database: The secretariat is currently creating a database of consultants to take part in GDF country and monitoring missions.

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GDF Procurement/Supply Update:

2003 has seen deliveries of TB drugs arrive in five countries, Mauritania being the most recent delivery on 01 February. Thirteen further countries will be receiving deliveries of TB drugs in April and May this year.

The adjudication panel met last week to discuss the proposals from potential GDF procurement agents. An announcement is expected by the end of March.

The pre-qualification process for the production of a "white list" of TB manufacturers is still ongoing. An announcement is expected within the next couple of months.

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GDF External Evaluation Update:

The GDF, housed at WHO HQ for an initial two year period, is currently undergoing an external evaluation by a team from McKinsey and Company to determine its future and its governance. The team have visited Kenya, Somalia, Moldova and Romania as examples of first round countries. They are currently planning visits to second round countries including Nigeria, Malawi, Uganda, South Africa, India, Myanmar and the Philippines.

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GDF Forthcoming Events

March 2003

  • The Sixth Meeting of the Technical Review Committee, WHO, Geneva, 11-13 March
  • Country visit to Niger, 25-29 February
  • Monitoring Missions to Nigeria in March
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Calendar of Events (web site)

For more information on upcoming events, please click on the above link:

February/May 2003

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In Print

  • Un marco ampliado de DOTS para el control eficaz de la tuberculosis
    (document WHO/CDS/TB/2002.297)
  • Guidelines for cost and cost-effectiveness analysis of tuberculosis control. Doc. 1: Introduction, important economic concepts, protocols, and useful references (document WHO/CDS/TB/2002.305a)
  • Guidelines for cost and cost-effectiveness analysis of tuberculosis control. Doc. 2: Data entry sheets for exercises and protocols (document WHO/CDS/TB/2002.305b)
  • Guidelines for cost and cost-effectiveness analysis of tuberculosis control. Doc. 3: Worked examples using data from Kenya and South Africa (document WHO/CDS/TB/2002.305c)
  • Operational guide for national tuberculosis control programmes on the introduction and use of fixed-dose combination drugs (document WHO/CDS/TB/2002.308)
  • Final report of the 3rd DOTS Expansion Working Group Meeting, 5–6 October 2002, Montreal, Canada (document WHO/CDS/TB/2003.315)
  • Global defence against the infectious disease threat (document WHO/CDS/2003.15)

All documents are available from the CDS Information Resource Centre; fax: +41 22 791 4285; e-mail: cdsdoc@who.int.

- TB publications are also available at http://www.who.int/gtb/publications/TBCatalogue.htm.

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    'Stop TB' - a global movement to accelerate social and political action to stop the spread of tuberculosis around the world. For further information please contact the Stop TB Secretariat at: stoptbinfo@who.int