Stop TB Partnership Communiqué
Issue No.31
April 2003

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News from the Stop TB Partnership Secretariat (web site)

Stop TB Partners’ Forum – 4-5 December, 2003, New Delhi, India

The Stop TB Partnership Secretariat takes pleasure in announcing the Second Stop TB Partners' Forum, which will take place on 4-5 December 2003 in New Delhi, India.

The Forum will focus on Partnership progress in implementing the Global Plan to Stop TB, highlighting the importance of progress at the country level and private and civil sectors involvement.

The Stop TB Partners' Forum has four overall objectives:

  1. Report on progress of the Partnership since the 1st Stop TB Partners’ Forum in Washington, USA;
  2. Further accelerate efforts to address country constraints, needs and proposed solutions to reach TB targets;
  3. Strengthen non-governmental (private and civil sectors) support to the implementation of Stop TB activities;
  4. Highlight the human face of TB through involvement of people who have been afflicted by TB (and HIV/AIDS)

India has the largest number of TB cases in the world, and it is also one of the countries making the most rapid progress in expanding DOTS. With the present rate of progress and if they continue to address the major challenges, India is going to reach the global TB targets by 2005. India is an example for many other countries struggling with TB, and we are pleased that the Government of India has agreed to host the Forum.
Please mark the dates of 4-5 December 2003 in your calendars. You will be receiving more information over the next months.

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Stop TB Co-ordinating Board Meeting in Brazil

The Stop TB Co-ordinating Board met 4-5 April in Brasilia, Brazil. The meeting addressed the progress in DOTS expansion and reinforced action-oriented global mechanisms to support the high-TB burden countries in reaching the global Stop TB targets and Millennium Development Goals. The recommendations of the independent GDF evaluation were reviewed and next steps for governance, scope and functions were outlined. Furthermore, the Board decided on other key governance and administrative issues: a) the process for the recruitment of the Executive Secretary was outlined; and b) an independent evaluation of the Partnership was endorsed and will be initiated over the next months.

The next Stop TB Coordinating Board meeting will be held 10-11 October 2003 in The Hague, The Netherlands, hosted by KNCV in conjunction with the DOTS Expansion Working Group meeting and the 100-year celebrations of the KNCV.

[KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation will celebrate its centennial on October 9th in 2003 at the Royal Theatre in The Hague. During the day there will be a symposium that focuses on ‘the role of Non-Governmental Organisations in Global TB Control’. In the evening this will be followed by a festive celebration.]

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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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News from the Stop TB Working Groups (web site)

DOTS Expansion Working Group (DEWG)

The DOTS Expansion Working Group (DEWG) core team held a teleconference on 25 March 2003. The following topics were discussed:
DEWG meetings: The fourth DEWG meeting will take place on 7 and 8 October 2003 in The Hague, the Netherlands. The first day will be a closed meeting with members of the DEWG. Time will be allocated for group discussions. The second day will be a joint meeting with the Stop TB Coordinating Board. The fifth DEWG meeting is likely to take place in October 2004 in a high-TB burden country to be defined.
The task force on increasing case detection via innovative methods held a teleconference the same day. The aim of this task force is to build more donor support into innovative approaches for TB control. The exact mechanism is still being worked out. However, a new facility, "Fidelis," set up by IUATLD through CIDA funding will be operational within weeks. It will support pilot projects aiming at increasing case detection via methods including PPM-DOTS, urban TB control, public-private links, etc. National TB programme managers are invited to prepare proposals for submission.

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The Global Plan to Stop TB (GPSTB) describes the essential implementation (DOTS expansion) and new tools development to Stop TB. The DOTS Expansion Working Group (DEWG) has convened a second ad hoc Committee on the TB Epidemic to review the constraints to DOTS expansion and propose solutions. The second ad hoc Committee will produce a report as a companion to the GPSTB. The Committee objectives are the following:

  1. to review the status of the TB epidemic, and country and global efforts to control it, with special emphasis on assessing the follow-up to the recommendations of the first ad hoc Committee on the TB Epidemic (London, 1998);
  2. to analyse the identified constraints (specific to TB programmes and more broadly related to health systems) towards achieving the WHA 2005 targets and identify feasible solutions at the national and international levels;
  3. to define a mid-term (i.e. about 5 years) strategic direction for the DOTS expansion movement: a) to implement fully the Global DOTS Expansion Plan and achieve the WHA 2005 targets, and b) to go beyond these targets to start to look towards reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015.

The ad hoc Committee includes the chairs of the three implementation working groups (DOTS expansion, DOTS-Plus and TB/HIV) and other selected members representing a variety of constituencies, including high TB burden countries, international development assistance agencies, technical experts and researchers. The work of the ad hoc Committee links with that of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Project "Task Force 5" (Infectious Diseases and Access to Essential Medicines) in defining an approach to reaching the MDGs in 2015, through the participation of the members of the Task Force 5 working group "Combating TB".

The Stop TB Partnership will convene a series of five consultations in Summer 2003, involving selected groups of public health experts for input in the following (primary care providers, human resources for health, social mobilisation, expanding the Partnership and health system reform). The outcomes of these consultations will inform the deliberations of the second ad hoc Committee in finalising its report by September 2003.

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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 69 countries of which 46 have been approved for support.

The final recommendations of the Sixth Technical Review Committee (TRC) were to approve four new applications from Mali (emergency), Madagascar (emergency), Yemen (emergency) and Egypt (regular). New applications from Madagascar (regular) and Macedonia were placed under consideration. All applications from countries previously under consideration or resubmissions were approved including Eritrea, Cote D’Ivoire and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Of the monitoring country applications, Tajikistan, Somalia, DR Congo and Djibouti were all approved.

Country visits to all countries approved for GDF support at the Sixth TRC will be arranged and will take place later this year.

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:

The GDF has delivered TB drugs to 22 countries since its inception. Countries due to receive deliveries of TB drugs in May are Angola, Azerbaijan, Gambia, Kenya, DPR Korea, Indonesia, Orissa State (India) and India itself.

The adjudication panel for the selection of the new GDF procurement agent has made its final recommendation. The formal announcement awaits negotiation of the final contract.

The pre-qualification process for the production of a "white list" of TB manufacturers and anti-TB products meeting WHO/international standards is still ongoing. Publication of the first "white list" is expected in early July.

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GDF Direct Procurement:

The GDF’s Direct Procurement Service enables eligible governments and their partner organizations to purchase high-quality, low-cost drugs directly through the GDF. The aim of the direct procurement mechanism is to promote DOTS expansion.

The GDF is currently working on the production of a revised information pack to promote the Direct Procurement Service. In parallel to this, contact has been made with potential interested parties who have received the GDF Direct Procurement information sheet.

Through the developing GDF partnership programme, we are working with volunteer marketing experts from Proctor and Gamble on how best to market and promote the Direct Procurement Mechanism. It is hoped that through this strengthening partnership, Proctor and Gamble volunteers will become involved in other GDF projects.

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GDF External Evaluation Update:

The GDF, housed at WHO HQ for an initial two-year period, has recently undergone an external evaluation by a team from McKinsey and Company to determine its future and its governance. The evaluation was concluded last month and the interim report was presented to the Stop TB Coordinating Board in Brazil in early April. There was a formal presentation on 30 April for WHO departments and other interested parties in Geneva, and the final report is due in mid-May.

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GDF Forthcoming Events

Togo Monitoring Visit: 15-26 June 2003, Republic of Togo

Regional Central Asia TBC Conference, Kyrgyzstan: 22-25 May 2003
(GDF Presentation on drug availability and Fixed Dose Combination Drugs: 22 May, 14.00)

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Calendar of Events (web site)

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

April/July 2003

 

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In Print

  • Community Contribution to TB Care: Practice and policy
    (Document: WHO/CDS/TB/2003.312    )
  • Community Contribution to TB Care: An Asian Perspective
    (Document: WHO/CDS/TB/2002.302)
  • Contribucion de la comunidad a la atencion de la Tuberculosis: Una Perspectiva latinoamericana
    (Document: WHO/CDS/TB/2002.304(S))
  • Treatment of Tuberculosis Guidelines for National Programmes
    (Document: WHO/CDS/TB/2002.313)
  • Global Drug Facility TB Programme - Buying High-Quality Drugs through GDF's Direct Procurement Mechanism
  • First meeting of the Public-Private Mix - Subgroup for DOTS Expansion
    (Document: WHO/CDS/TB/2003.317)
  • Treatment of Tuberculosis: guidelines for national programmes Third edition (English)
    (Document: WHO/CDS/STB/2002.313)

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