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 Photo credit: WHO/Chris Black
 A health worker hands out a prescription  to a TB patient from what remains of the  drug stocks in a destroyed TB centre in  Muzaffarabad, Pakistan.
[ Communiqué ]An update of information from the Stop TB Partnership and our Partners

Issue No. 43, December 2005

NEWS FROM THE STOP TB PARTNERSHIP SECRETARIAT

For a selection of weekly TB news articles, visit our news page

STOP TB PARTNERSHIP

  • ITALY URGES TUBERCULOSIS TO BECOME A PRIORITY FOR THE G8 IN 2006
    The Italian Government is to call on G8 countries to intensify global efforts on TB control and ensure it is included as a priority in the 2006 summit agenda. In a statement distributed by the Prime Minister's Office, the Honorable Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Giuseppe Drago warned that "TB risks being forgotten" despite two million people dying from the disease every year.

    Mr Drago and other high level Italian officials met earlier with a delegation of the Stop TB Partnership including the WHO Stop TB Department Director, USAID Chief of Infectious Diseases, DR Congo Vice Ministry of Health, and Executive Secretary Stop TB Partnership. Concrete outcomes included: Italy to continue and strengthen its support to the fight against TB.

    View the report.

  • Pakistan Earthquake: Continuing TB control through the disaster GDF provides emergency grant for TB drugs

    View WHO photo essay: Coping with the aftermath of the Earthquake: WHO National TB Programme Officer for Pakistan.. Click on the essay, "coping."

    Stop Tuberculosis, World Health Organization: Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean http://www.emro.who.int/stb/

    Emergency and Humanitarian Action, World Health Organization, Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean: http://www.emro.who.int/eha/pakistan.htm

  • Stop TB Partnership Executive Secretary addresses World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates
    The Executive Secretary of the Stop TB Partnership, Dr. Marcos Espinal, was invited to make a special presentation on the global TB epidemic and regional TB emergency in Africa at the 2005 World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Rome, Italy on 24-25 November.

    For more information click here.

 

GLOBAL DRUG FACILITY

  • Pakistan earthquake: Continuing TB control through the disaster GDF provides emergency grant for TB drugs
    GDF has provided an emergency grant of much needed anti-TB drugs to Pakistan. The drugs will help replenish stocks lost and damaged during the earthquake. The recently signed GDF emergency grant for TB drugs, which should be sufficient to treat 5000 TB patients, is due to arrive in late 2005.

  • GDF "Sustaining the Gains" strategy now available
    The GDF is delighted to announce the publication of its "Sustaining the Gains" strategy, which describes how the GDF encourages countries to take increasing responsibility to fund their TB control programmes. The strategy is available electronically from the GDF website. For a printed copy, please contact gdf@who.int.

  • GDF strengthens drug management capacity with workshops
    The GDF and Management Sciences for Health (MSH) have recently conducted two TB drug management workshops. On 19 October 2005 at the 36th annual World Lung Health Conference in Paris over 80 participants attended a full day workshop entitled "Strengthening Medicine Supply in National TB Programmes: Practical Guidelines and Tools." A 5 day workshop in drug management for GDF consultants was held in Hanoi, Vietnam from 7-11 November 2005. In February 2006 the GDF, in collaboration with John Snow Incorporated, MSH and Project Hope, will be conducting a similar workshop in drug management in Almaty, Kazakhstan..

  • GDF issued Expressions of Interest (EOI) for paediatric drugs
    GDF invited manufacturers of paediatric formulations to submit Expressions of Interest in November 2005. For more information about the expression of interest and the related products, please refer to the GDF website.

  • GDF announces ISO 9001:2000 certification
    The GDF is proud to announce it has been certified as ISO 9001:2000 compliant by the International Organization for Standardization for "Provision of quality assured anti-TB drugs and related services to eligible national TB programmes."

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COORDINATING BOARD

  • The 9th Stop TB Partnership Coordinating Board meeting held in Assisi, Italy 10-11 November 2005.
    Major topics under discussion were the adoption of launch proposals for Global Plan to Stop TB, the establishment of a mechanism to coordinate technical assistance from partner agencies, feedback on the impact of national partnerships, the establishment of the Stop TB Partnership/Kochon Foundation annual award, the approval of a Plan of Action for Intensified TB Control in Europe, the adoption of the International Standards for TB Care and the Patients' Charter, the Secretariat biennium plan and the GDF strategic plan for the next five years . View more information on the website.

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NATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS

  • Visit the national partnership web sites!
    Stop TB Canada
    Stop TB Indonesia
    Stop TB Italia


  • Stop TB Partnership Indonesia web site launched
    Launched in coordination with the first-ever Indonesian National TB Congress, The Stop TB Partnership Indonesia web site will serve as a comprehensive public information tool for TB.

    View the web site and special message from the Indonesian Minister of Health

    Note: currently, most of the articles are exclusively available in the Indonesian language. There are plans to make more English language articles available.

  • Stop TB Partnership Indonesia holds first-ever National TB Congress, Jakarta, Indonesia, 18-19 November 2005.
    With participation of over 1000, the Congress opened with a strong statement of continued political commitment from the Minister of Health and the Coordinating Minister of Welfare. The national partnership movement 'Gerdunas' reviewed its organization, membership, and carved out new mechanisms for best supporting the 5-year national TB plan 2006-2010.

  • National partnerships present at Stop TB Partnership Coordinating Board meeting
    A special session was dedicated to the work of the National Partnerships at the 9th Stop TB Partnership Coordinating Board meeting in Assisi, Italy. National Partnerships from Brazil, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Pakistan, and Peru informed the Board on the objectives, successes and challenges of the partnerships.

    Download the presentations.

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TB AND POVERTY

  • The Network Secretariat for Action on TB and Poverty Symposium "Scaling up TB control to meet the needs of the poor" took place at the IUATLD Congress in Paris, France, 21 October 2005.
    The objectives of the symposium were:
    • to disseminate examples of best practices in pro-poor TB control within each of the implementation working groups of the Stop TB Partnership
    • to promote the development and effectiveness of the Network for Action on TB and Poverty
    The programme is available here.

  • TB and Poverty: Are we doing enough?
    Bellagio Workshop, 6-8 December 2005
    The EQUI-TB Knowledge Programme of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, with additional funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, will host a workshop on TB & Poverty from 6-8 December 2005 at the Bellagio Study and Conference Centre. The aim is to bring together work on TB and Poverty and use it to stimulate debate amongst stakeholders and policy makers from the health service delivery community and the broader development community.

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SECOND GLOBAL PLAN TO STOP TB (2006-2015)

  • The Global Plan to Stop TB (2006-2015) will be released at the end of January 2006 at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and at several satellite events around the globe.

    Information on the Global Plan is available on the Stop TB web site.

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FINANCE AND RESOURCE MOBILIZATION

  • Country Support: TB CAP - TB Control Assistance Programme funding mechanism set up by USAID
    TB CAP is a new USAID funding mechanism to provide countries with technical assistance in TB control through a coalition of technical agencies including WHO, the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (IUATLD), KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Family Health International (FHI), Management Sciences for Health (MSH), American Thoracic Society, and the Japanese Tuberculosis Association (JATA).

    Click here for more information.

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NEWS FROM PATIENTS AND THE AFFECTED COMMUNITY

  • Winstone Zulu, leading activist for TB and HIV/AIDS from Zambia, visits four Canadian cities on a cross country TB advocacy tour, 4-15 November 2005
    The tour included a lecture at McGill University, alongside members of McGill's tuberculosis research team to medical students; an NGO briefing in Ottawa with the Canadian Lung Assoc, a number of African NGOs, and the North-South Institute; RESULTS Canada fundraising events; and a meeting with Stephen Lewis, the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, and founder of the Stephen Lewis Foundation. The tour, organized by RESULTS Canada was a media success.

  • Increased involvement of the affected community at the 36th Union World Conference on Lung Health and joint working group meeting in Versailles, 15-22 October 2005.
    More than 50 community representatives attended the 4th International TB/HIV Community Workshop in Paris, organized by Treatment Action Group and Open Society Institute during the 36th Union World Conference on Lung Health. Agenda items included capacity building, networking, advocacy and resource mobilization, and increasing TB/HIV awareness at country level.

    Two statements where presented during the conference.
    1. An open letter to Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS, for greater TB/HIV involvement and to ensure TB is included in the agenda of the upcoming UN General Assembly Special Session.
    Click here for more information.
    2. Towards a Revolution in Tuberculosis Prevention, Care and Treatment: Statement of Individuals from Communities Affected by Tuberculosis (TB)
    Click here for more information.

  • Patient Charter and other issues discussed at the 9th Stop TB Partnership Coordinating Board meeting
    At the 9th Stop TB Partnership Coordinating Board meeting Lucy Chesire, community representative on the board presented the need for training and capacity building, additional presence of a representative from the affected community in future Board meetings, and the need for a permanent focal point for affected communities at the Stop TB secretariat. The Board endorsed these requests.

    As part of the discussion on the International Standard for TB Care, a second draft of a TB Patient Charter "Rights and responsibilities of those infected by TB" was also presented by Chesire for endorsement. The Charter was received positively and is expected to be endorsed in the future.
    Click here to view the draft of the Patient Charter.

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WORKING GROUPS

Joint meeting

Working Group on New TB Diagnostics

  • Annual meeting outcomes, 19 October 2005
    The annual meeting of the Stop TB Working Group on New Diagnostics brought together leading international delegates to review and discuss technology developments in TB. Four new subgroups were created including discovery research, diagnostic trials, market entry, and advocacy. Membership is now open for these new subgroups.

    Interested parties may contact: info@finddiagnostics.com.

Working Group on New TB Drugs

Working Group on New TB Vaccines

  • Upcoming Events
    Second International Conference on TB Vaccines for the World TBV 2006, 19-21 April, the Austrian Industrial Association, Vienna
    For information please download this pdf.

    The 2006 meeting of the Stop TB Working Group on TB New Vaccines will be held in conjunction with the above meeting.

  • Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation and GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals to jointly develop the MTB72f/AS02A vaccine candidate
    GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals (GSK Biologicals) and the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation (Aeras) have announced a new public-private partnership to develop GSK Biologicals' tuberculosis candidate vaccine Mtb72F/AS02A, which has shown promising results in preclinical studies and in early-stage clinical trials conducted by GSK Biologicals.

    For the full press release in PDF format click here.

TB/HIV Working Group

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Hot Topics

Mario Raviglione winner of the 2005 Princess Chichibu memorial TB Global Award, 19 October 2005

Click here for more information

City of Versailles presents Stop TB Partnership with award, 15 October 2005

Click here for more information

Support UK charity TB Alert by purchasing their holiday cards--every penny paid for this year's new cards goes to fighting TB worldwide.

See www.tbalert.org and click to buy your cards on-line. Postage can be arranged to any country, delivered within 7-10 days (2-3 working days to UK) if ordered by the beginning of December.

Launch of Health Systems Action Network


New Publications

For a list of WHO TB publications visit: The WHO 2005 publications page.

For a list of Stop TB Partnership Publications visit: The Stop TB Partnership documents page.

Sustaining the Gains, National Self-Sufficiency for TB Drug Access
A Global Drug Facility Strategy
October 2005
WHO/HTM/STB/2006.34
Click here for the document.

Stop TB Partnership Annual Report 2004
May 2005
WHO/HTM/STB/2005.33
Click here for the annual report.

Fighting TB on the front lines: Results of a special e-forum
Key findings and recommendations on the crucial role played by front-line health workers in TB control.
October 2005
Click here for the document.

Best Practice HIV-TB services in Malawi, WHO Publication, November 2005
Click here for the document.

WHO Global TB Factsheets
Click here for the fact sheets.

Management of tuberculosis training for district TB coordinators: How to organize training for district TB coordinators
WHO/HTM/TB/2005.353

Final report of the 5th meeting of the DOTS expansion working group
27-28 October 2004, Paris, France
WHO/HTM/TB/2005.358

Recent Events

Online Event Calendar

Consultation for development of a TB Control Strategic Plan for the African Region, 2006-2015, 7 to 11 November 2005.
Fifteen countries attended the review of the previous strategic plan, and had discussions on the new Stop TB strategy, the Global Plan to Stop TB II, and the declaration of TB as an African regional emergency.

"Guidelines for the management of drug resistant tuberculosis" coordinated by WHO with PAHO/AMRO, Juan Dolio, Dominican Republic, 7-11 November 2005.
The course aimed to facilitate the drug management, and case recording and reporting of MDR-TB cases under treatment in participant countries.

High Level Forum of the Millennium Development Goals, Paris, France, 14-15 November 2005
Discussions during this meeting were focused on fiscal space and sustainability at country level, fragile states, and harmonization and alignment of global partnerships. Outcomes of the meeting included a) countries' need to increase the allocation of funding to health, donors' need to increase funding, long term commitment, and budget support; b) the need for the Global Partnerships to align and harmonize to reduce transaction costs in countries; and adoption of best practice principles derived from the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness by the Boards of Global Partnerships. Executive Secretary of Stop TB attended the meeting.

Upcoming Events

The 14th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA) will take place from 4-9 December 2005 in Abuja, Nigeria.
Read more

WHO Stop TB workshop for TB experts who assist countries in GFATM-related matters, 12-16 December 2005
The objective of the workshop is to equip TB experts to support GFATM-funded TB programmes; specifically the phases of grant preparation and implementation.

10th Annual Meeting of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease -- North American Region, Chicago, IL, USA, 2 - 4 March 2006
View the document

New Partners

The following is a list of new Partners who have joined the Stop TB Partnership since the last Communiqué. To view the list click here.

To apply to become a partner visit: click here

This issue can be found online at /email/communique/communique_043.htm www.stoptb.org
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