World TB Day 2004
24 March 2004
Keeping the Pledge

World TB Day Themes and Strategy

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1. Background

The next two years, 2004 - 2005, are going to be very critical for reaching the WHA targets for 2005 (the 'process' targets of 70% case-detection and 85% cure rate). Globally, our current level of achievement is only about 37% in case-detection, and 83% with respect to cure. Meeting the 2005 targets will also be an essential first step towards reaching the 2015 Millennium Development Goals target (the epidemiological 'impact' target, which has been articulated as -- "to have halted and begun to reverse" the incidence of TB).

While much of global and regional TB advocacy to date has been directed, quite successfully, at resource mobilisation and strengthening political and governmental commitment, the time has now come for intensifying advocacy efforts which are specifically directed at engendering greater public commitment and participation in TB control/elimination.

In March 2004 the 2nd Stop TB Partners' Forum in New Delhi will be coinciding with World TB Day '04. Aside from being an opportunity for re-vitalising political commitment (at the Forum), the moment offers a unique opportunity to launch a provocative world-wide campaign for catalysing greater public participation in the global movement against TB.

However, the starting point for considering any overarching theme/strategy, especially if it is to be directed at mobilizing greater public commitment for TB, it is worthwhile to reflect on the following question:

How many people, other than those in the TB community, know that:

  • One third of the world is infected with TB
  • Each year, 8 million new people develop TB and 2 million patients die
  • More women die of TB than maternal mortality
  • TB is curable
  • There exits a global movement and partnership to stop TB.

While there are no hard numbers, it is not difficult to surmise that public awareness and the involvement of civil society in the cause of Tuberculosis elimination has been less than optimal. Some of the reasons that can be attributed to this are:

  • Lack of a compelling and evocative theme/idea/message on TB that appeals to public imagination. The themes of the past two years -- " Stop TB, Fight Poverty " and " DOTS Cured Me, It Will Cure You Too ", were primarily directed at the TB community itself , and were not particularly compelling for the public at large .
  • Overall, the engagement between the media and the global movement against TB, has been directed at international readership. This has resulted in only a modest level of public debate and public engagement with the issue of TB at the local levels . Building regional/national media networks, to inform and initiate public debate within locally relevant contexts is emerging as a priority.
  • Aside from some exceptions, the communication campaigns run by most NTPs tend to focus largely on the bio-medical imperative (e.g. DOTS operations), rather than on a wider, more inclusive, social development agenda. This has generally led to campaigns with messages centred around urging patients to avail of DOTS services, rather than advocating for the TB issue as a whole.

 

2. Proposed Themes:

Objectives:

Based on current and emerging priorities, the overall objectives of the Stop TB Campaign (which includes the campaign elements/messages of World TB Day 2004 and the 2nd Stop TB Partners Forum ) are:

  • To infuse a sense of urgency in the TB movement, and ensure acceleration of effort by all stakeholders in order to meet the 2005 targets
  • To catalyse and scale-up the participation of civil society, towards building greater societal commitment for the TB movement

To achieve these objectives, the strategic approach suggested consists of the following elements:

  • Development, release and follow-through of a compelling World TB Day theme/slogan which gives primacy to, and is specifically directed at, grabbing public imagination. The theme/slogan must lend itself to creative interpretation -- visually and textually.
  • A highly focused and specific set of media activities that facilitate closer and more direct engagement and partnership-building with journalists and media agencies.
  • A year-long set of high-profile advocacy activities and events involving a 'Global Ambassador of the Stop TB Partnership', to project the issue of TB and the work of the global movement against TB.
  • Re-vitalisation of high-level political commitment through the Partners' Forum in New Delhi , which will take place at the same time as World TB Day 2004.

Themes:

Based on the objectives outlined earlier, the following generic theme is suggested:

  • World TB Day 2004 (and beyond): "Every Breath Counts - Stop TB Now !"

Rationale:

There is an inseparable link between the act of breathing, and life itself. Indeed, breath, and breathing, is central to every human act and expression. Breath, and breathing, are also closely associated with Tuberculosis.

The suggested theme/slogan centre-stages these various links, and communicates it with a certain sense of urgency and immediacy. A creative example of the usage of this theme, based on a contribution by one of our partners, is shown below.

The theme is also 'open-ended' and lends itself to creative visual and textual interpretation, for expressing a multiplicity of individual/collective human emotions and contexts. The theme can also be transcreated relatively easily into different contexts, cultures and languages. Stop TB partners are expected to creatively interpret the theme in many different ways, based on regional and national priorities/contexts.

The public at large, civil society and the media, are the primary audience. National governments and policy-makers are the secondary audience.

  • 2nd Stop TB Partners Forum: " Keeping the Pledge"

Rationale:

The 2nd Stop TB Partners Forum in New Delhi (March 2004), will bring together nearly 300 partners including: ministerial delegations from the 22 High-Burden Countries; high-level representatives from technical and donor agencies; NGOs and TB/TB-HIV patient networks; and a number of high-profile individuals. The meeting comes at a critical moment in time - half-way through the 2001 - 2005 time-frame envisaged in the Global Plan to Stop TB. Aside from reviewing progress to date, the single over-arching objective of the meeting therefore is to re-vitalise political commitment for meeting the 2005 targets, as expressed in the theme - ' Keeping the Pledge'.

A number of products and activities on the theme of ' Keeping the Pledge ', including advocacy with the media, have been planned for the Partners Forum.

Invitees to the Forum, national governments, NTPs and donor agencies are the primary audience. Journalists and media-agencies are the secondary audience.

 

3. Activities and Products

WTBD'04 and the Stop TB Partners Forum will be coinciding in end-March 2004. Since much of the resources of the Advocacy and Communication team of the Stop TB Partnership Secretariat have been committed for the development and actualization of the activities/products planned for the Partners Forum, only a limited number of products for WTBD '04 will be produced and released from the Secretariat . The WHO Regional/Country offices and other Stop TB partners are strongly encouraged to provide leadership in organizing WTBD '04 products/activities in their respective regions/countries in 2004.

Aside from a modest set of products (enlisted later in this document), the Secretariat is focusing on TWO major activities of strategic importance, both of which will impact WTBD '04, the Partners Forum, as well as the Stop TB campaign as whole, for the coming year. These are still being finalized, and more details will follow . However, a brief outline is provided here:

1. Media Awards:

In collaboration with PANOS, announce and administer two prestigious international media awards (competitive), to be launched by the Stop TB Partnership on World TB Day / Partners Forum, 2004:

  • The First Stop TB Partnership International Award for Excellence in Health Journalism and, the First Stop TB Partnership International Award for Excellence in Documentary Photography. Tuberculosis and the Stop TB movement will be the context.
  • The competition, along with all the support materials (rules, guidelines, registration, briefing materials), expected to be prepared by the PANOS and the Secretariat. Details, modalities and timelines are currently under discussion .

2. Global Ambassador of the Stop TB Partnership - A R Rahman:

The appointment of A R Rahman, the legendary icon of popular music from India , as the First Global Ambassador of the Stop TB Partnership is a great new opportunity for creatively projecting the TB issue, the Stop TB movement, the Partners Forum and World TB Day '04 into the public sphere. The following are some of the activities under consideration by the Secretariat for the immediate period of Jan - March 2004:

  • Announcement of Rahman's ambassadorship, at a press or public event by an appropriate high-level representative of the Stop TB Partnership. Simultaneous release of a biographical slide-set and/or flash-film on A R Rahman (3 - 5 mins) at the event and on the Stop TB web-site.
  • Creation and production of an international anthem on TB/Poverty by A R Rahman, and at least 2 PSAs (30 - 60 secs) featuring Rahman - one on the issue of TB, and the other, projecting the Stop TB movement for release in Feb/March.

Expected outcomes:

  • Wide international publicity of the issue of TB and the Stop TB movement
  • Substantial quantum of media/press write-ups and features between Feb-March 2004, which could facilitate greater debate on the issue of TB.
  • Substantially improved library of high-quality, professional documentary images from a truly international perspective, which can be exploited for the Stop TB website, photo-exhibitions, reports and other campaign materials.
  • A solid database of international journalists/photojournalists (registered as participants through the Stop TB website), for improved and closer engagement between the Partnership and the media in general.
  • Closer engagement and partnership with the media industry, particularly Television and the music industry.

4. Additional Products/Activities:

Between Jan and March 2004, the following additional products be made available from the Stop TB Partnership Secretariat and the WHO Stop TB Department, Geneva :

1. Audio-Visual Products:

  • PSAs and Flash films : The flash film, based on the WHO 'Colors' Report will be released in CD-ROM format in about 10 languages. The films will also be available on the Stop TB web-site. Additionally, 2-3 other audio-visual products, including PSAs and flash-films on the issue of TB-HIV co-infection (featuring the Zambian activist Winston Zulu) and, a video on the late Annalena Tonnelli, the Italian humanitarian activist who had dedicated her life to fighting TB in Somalia.
  • New Stop TB Partnership web-site : The Stop TB Partnership web-site is being completely revised. The new, re-engineered web-site will be launched on World TB Day, and is expected to be richer in content and more efficient in its architecture. A new web-page on WTBD'04 will be created on the web-site which will act as an electronic clearing-house of information, alerts and downloadable products. The web-page will be a repository of WTBD '04 products prepared by various regions/countries, and also document events, activities and news-articles.

2. Reports/Documents/Fact-Sheets/Press Releases:

  • WHO Global TB Report 2004: Hard-copy expected to be released around mid-March in advance of World TB Day.
  • Global MDR - TB Surveillance Report: This will be a new landmark report. Release date being finalized. May be released on WTBD'04 from New Delhi .
  • Progress Report on the Global Plan to Stop TB: Hard-copy to be released at the Partners Forum in New Delhi .
  • Interim policy on TB-HIV collaborative activities: Electronic copy to be released in early Jan 2004; hardcopies and an advocacy kit in Feb-March 2004.
  • Report of the 2nd ad hoc Committee on the TB Epidemic: Hard-copy of this vision document will be released at the Partners Forum. Advance copies in electronic format will be sent to all participants of the Partners Forum in Jan-Feb.
  • Fact-Sheets: Two fact-sheets, one on the WHO TB Report 2004, and the second related to Progress on the Global Plan to Stop TB will be released electronically to all partners for use on World TB Day events, including distribution to the media.
  • Press Releases: A series of press releases will be distributed by the Partnership Secretariat and WHO-HQ in the run-up to Partners Forum and World TB Day 2004. Advance copies of the press releases will be made available electronically, as samples, to all partners for use in World TB Day activities.