TB-affected communities and civil society need to be meaningfully engaged in all parts of the TB response. This includes in the prioritization of interventions and approaches, implementation, monitoring, review, advocacy, and governance. TB-affected communities must be engaged, capacitated, funded, and empowered to end TB.
Meaningful engagement should focus on TB survivors and TB key and vulnerable populations (KVPs). These groups must receive the investment and capacity to strengthen community systems, particularly locally and nationally, but also at the regional and global level.
The Stop TB Partnership has supported the strengthening of global, regional, and national level networks of people affected by TB and activists, including TBpeople, Global Coalition of TB Activists (GCTA), TB Women, Dynamique de la Réponse d'Afrique Francophone sur la Tuberculose (DRAF TB), African Coalition on Tuberculosis (ACT), Activists' Coalition on TB Asia-Pacific (ACT! AP), Americas TB Coalition, and TB Europe Coalition (TBEC), among many others at the country level.
The Stop TB Partnership has led the way in promoting meaningful community engagement in governance at the global level. This includes through supporting the formation of three NGO and affected community delegations to the Stop TB Partnership Coordinating Board. These delegations lead coordination and communications relating to global TB governance, and have led community accountability efforts, including through the development of A Deadly Divide: TB Commitments vs TB Realities.
At the country level, Stop TB also works to support the meaningful engagement of TB-affected communities and civil society through the small grants mechanism, Challenge Facility for Civil Society, and by supporting TB-affected communities to partner with National TB Program to conduct CRG and stigma assessments, implement community-led monitoring and participate in TB program reviews.