SESSION 1

Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director GTB, provided an opening address. Ciara Goslett, a young TB survivor from South Africa, was the first speaker. She explained what she had gone through and called on leaders to ensure that other children and adolescents do not have to suffer from a disease that is preventable. If they do get TB she emphasized that they should receive the best possible treatment and care.

This was followed by the launch of the third edition of the Roadmap towards ending TB in children and adolescents with ten renewed key actions to reach the targets as included in the Political Declaration of the 2023 UN HLM on the Fight Against TB, as well as the targets of the WHO End TB Strategy.

Ciara Goslett and Mazidatun Maftukah, a young TB survivor from Indonesia, together with Dr Ben Marais, Dr Moorine Sekadde and Dr Chishala Chabala (former and current leadership of the working group) and the WHO CSTF representatives cut a red ribbon and wrote messages on a Roadmap banner. This was followed by two panel discussions with representatives of the technical partner organizations, donor organizations, communities and civil society who are represented in the core team and have their logos on the cover of the Roadmap, taking the audience through the renewed key actions of the 2023 Roadmap.

Panel 1 was facilitated by Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director WHO GTB. Dr Charlotte Colvin, Medical Officer at the Global Health Bureau at USAID spoke about the need to increase funding for TB prevention and care for children and adolescents. Dr Suvanand Sahu, Deputy Director, Stop TB Partnership talked about fostering national and sub-national engagement and accountability and the importance of collaborative activities with engagement of Child Health actors. Prof Guy Marks, President of the Board of Directors of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases shared The Union’s experiences with contact investigation, TB prevention and the provision of TB preventive treatment. Dr Mustapha Gidado, Executive Director of the KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation called for social protection programmes for children, adolescents and families affected by TB. Finally, Dr Anand Date, Chief, Global TB at CDC explained how partners united in the working group can help countries to build and sustain local capacity to prevent and manage TB in children and adolescents. He also provided some experiences and perspectives from the Union/CDC sub-Saharan Centre of Excellence on TB in children and adolescents.

In panel 2 moderated by Monica Dias, Dr Appolinare Tiam, Vice President of Technical Strategies and Innovation at the Elisabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) called for better access to optimal TB care for children and adolescents building on the experiences from the Unitaid-funded CAP-TB project implemented by EGPAF. Dr Anna Scardigli, TB Advisor at the Global Fund, spoke about building and sustaining local capacity to prevent and manage TB and the opportunities that the Global Fund provides to countries to request funding for this. She mentioned the need to roll out the tools that we currently have and the importance of generating local evidence. Dr Nyan Win Phyo, World Vision Thailand and WHO Civil Society Task Force member called on sustained advocacy on TB in children and adolescents at all levels and the importance of involving communities.  Dr Lindsay McKenna, Co-Director of the TB Project at the Treatment Action Group highlighted the importance of continued and increased support to research and development focused on TB in children, adolescents, pregnant and postpartum women. Dr Cherise Scott shared perspectives from UNITAID on innovations to prevent and manage TB.  She called on partners to gain and sustain the momentum and on community and civil society leadership to assist countries to roll out the innovations. A pre-recorded message by Dr Anne Detjen from UNICEF on the importance of strengthening implementation of integrated, people-, family-, and community-centred strategies as part of Primary Health Care concluded Session 1.

PRESENTATIONS

SESSION 2

Session 2 started with an update from WHO including the analysis of the latest data outlined in the 2023 Global Tuberculosis Report, a policy update and other activities implemented since the working group last met on 29 November 2022. Dr Ben Marais then gave an update on the activities in which members of the working group had been engaged since the last meeting. Dr Steve Graham and Dr Kerri Viney then facilitated the formal handover in working group leadership from Drs Farhana Amanullah and Ben Marais to Drs Moorine Sekadde and Chishala Chabala. Dr Graham presented the growth of the working group over the past 20 years and also conveyed a message from Dr Robert Gie, first chair of the working group. The session ending with a marketplace during which working group members shared their new tools.

PRESENTATIONS

SESSION 3

During session 3, Dr Elisabeth Maleche Obimbo, a peadiatrician from Kenya, shared early experiences with the implementation of the 2022 WHO recommendations on the management of TB in children and adolescents, in particular on the roll out of the shorter regimen for children and adolescents with non-severe drug-susceptible TB. Dr Gordon Pukai, a paediatrician from Papua New Guinea, shared experiences on the management of TB in children and adolescents in his country. To conclude, Blessi Kumar, heading the Global Coalition of TB Advocates and WHO Civil Society Task Force on TB  Member, Dr Choub Sok Chamreun, Executive Director of KHANA Cambodia and WHO Civil Society Task Force on TB Member and Mazidatun Maktukhah, TB survivor from Indonesia shared perspectives from community and civil society on the roll out and implementation of the 2022 policy guidance stressing the importance of the involvement of affected communities, including young people, and civil society.

PRESENTATIONS

SESSION 4

Session 4 included presentations on emerging evidence and on areas on which the working group should increase attention. Dr Jennifer Hughes from the Desmond Tutu TB Centre at Stellenbosch University provided an overview of research on TB during pregnancy and the post-partum period. Dr Julie Hyunh from the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Vietnam provided an update on the SURE TB trial on TB meningitis. Dr Marieke Van Der Zalm from the Desmond Tutu TB Centre at Stellenbosch University in South Africa presented on care for children and adolescents with TB-associated disability. Dr Aparna Iyer from Médécins Sans Frontières in Mumbai, India shared experiences on engaging adolescents in care.  To conclude the session, Dr James Seddon from the Imperial College London shared a selection of recently published papers. The annual meeting was then closed by the WHO Secretariat

PRESENTATIONS