Announcements archive

The Tuberculosis Survival Prize, an annual award of $2000 sponsored by the Lilly MDR-TB Partnership, recognizes innovation in TB/MDR-TB advocacy and social mobilization. Nominations are currently open for individuals, groups or NGOs working in the field of HIV/TB or TB/MDR-TB. Applications from people directly affected by TB/MDR-TB are also actively encouraged, as are those from organizations who were previously nominated for the prize. The call for nominations for the Tuberculosis Prize 2009 closes on the 31st October 2009. The prize entry form and more information about the application procedure are available on the Tuberculosis Survival Project website, http://www.tbsurvivalproject.org/.

Each year the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) presents two awards of US$ 2,000 recognising exceptional contributions to tuberculosis and lung disease.

The Union Scientific Award acknowledges a researcher under the age of 45 for his or her work on tuberculosis or non-tuberculous lung disease published in the past five years. Applicants must provide hard copies or PDFs of their three most relevant publications as well as other documentation and references.

The Union Karel Styblo Public Health Prize acknowledges a health worker (physician or lay person) or a community organisation for contributions to tuberculosis control or non-tuberculous lung disease over a period of 10 years or more. Applicants should include a well-documented description of their individual or the organisation’s work, together with the comments of the manager of the association or programme.

Both awards are presented on the opening night of the Union World Conference on Lung Health, which will be on Friday, 4 December in Cancún, Mexico this year. Honorees who are unable to attend the conference may designate a colleague to receive the award on their behalf.

Complete application guidelines may be found on The Union website at www.theunion.org. All applications must be received in Paris no later than midnight on Friday, 18 September 2009.

For further information, please contact The Union’s Department of Communications at communications@theunion.org

TBTEAM, the TB TEchnical Assistance Mechanism, has launched a new web site designed to make it simple for regions, countries and technical assistance providers to track technical assistance activities planned around the world.

The site provides information about technical assistance missions, a calendar of events of interest to people working on tuberculosis and profiles of technical assistance providers. It also maps the countries where technical partners are most active and countries where TBTEAM focal points have been established at national level; and will display a roster of experts by area of expertise (this feature is currently under development and will soon be available).

TBTEAM, which is managed by the WHO Stop TB Department, was created by the Stop TB Partnership in 2007 to facilitate well-coordinated technical assistance for all stakeholders engaged in TB control and provide access to a network of technical partners. Its roles are to encourage planning at national, regional and global level; to help improve the efficiency of technical assistance (ensuring that needs are met while minimizing redundant missions); and promote capacity-building.

For more information, please contact tbteam@who.int.

The Stop TB Partnership-Kochon Prize supports the global fight against tuberculosis.The Prize is awarded once a year to persons, institutions or organizations that have made a highly significant contribution to combating tuberculosis. The prize consists of a medal and US$ 65 000.

Nominations for the 2009 Kochon Prize must be submitted by 23:59 GMT + 1 on 31 July 2009

GBC’s Annual Business Excellence Awards recognize the best in business action against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The awards dinner gives you the opportunity to connect with other leaders in the fight, gain high-value visibility and support the Coalition and our collective action agenda. Seats are available. The dinner will be held on 24 June in Washington, D.C., U.S.A

For questions, contact: mwhite@gbcimpact.org
Click here to learn more about the Business Excellence Awards

The European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) has issued two calls for proposals.

I. Clinical trials, capacity building and networking in new and improved diagnostics for tuberculosis (TB)

Available funds: € 8,000,000*
Number of projects to fund: 2-4
Open to application 24 March 2009
Deadline for application 24 July 2009

* We expect the EDCTP contribution of € 8,000,000 to be matched by at least an equivalent amount of cofunding from the European Member States and possibly further contributions from third parties.
Purpose of the call
The purpose of this call is to develop simpler, cheaper and more accurate TB diagnostic tool(s). The investigational product(s) should be manufactured under Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). Priority will be given but not limited to products that can be deployed at the Point of Care (POC).
Who can apply?
Participants in a proposal must be drawn from at least two publicly funded institutions from the EDCTP EEIG Member States and at least two sub-Saharan African institutions. Preference will be given to proposals where the project coordinator is a sub-Saharan African national based in Africa. Please note that clinical trials and activities outside of sub-Saharan Africa are outside the scope of EDCTP.
For more details on this call and how to apply, please consult the EDCTP website: www.edctp.org

II. Senior Fellowship

Available funds: € 2.4 million
Number of projects to fund: 12
Open to application: 1 February 2009
Deadline of application: 1 June 2009

Description of the grant scheme
Through this call, EDCTP intends to identify and support senior researchers capable of building and leading research groups at sub-Saharan African institutions that will be internationally competitive and capable of winning grants from international funding bodies. This grant is both available for researchers already working in Africa as well as those looking to return to the continent (re-entry grant). For this grant scheme EDCTP aims to contribute to building sustainable capacity through training and networking with linkage to the EDCTP supported regional Networks of Excellence in sub-Saharan Africa. A maximum of one Senior Fellowship per disease per region will be supported.

Grand Challenges in Global Health is a family of grants offered by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to researchers for developing new tools to address major but inadequately addressed diseases that affect developing countries. The programme seeks to engage creative minds across scientific disciplines - including those who have not traditionally taken part in health research - to work on solutions that could lead to breakthrough advances. Applications are being accepted through 28 May.

Click here for more information

The Stop TB Award for Excellence in Reporting on Tuberculosis fosters, recognizes and awards outstanding reporting in print that materially increases the public's knowledge and understanding of tuberculosis (TB), including multidrug-resistant TB, in countries affected by the disease. The award is supported by the Lilly MDR-TB Partnership.

The articles selected for recognition in 2009 must have been published between 1 March 2008 and 31 March 2009 in a general circulation newspaper, magazine or web news vehicle. The deadline entries for the 2009 award is 30 April 2009. Click here for more information.

The Partnership has a variety of meetings scheduled immediately preceding and during the Conference, between 16 to 20 October 2008.

Roadmap to Partnership meetings
Conference Link

The Tuberculosis Survival Project is calling for nominations for a new award, the Tuberculosis Survival Prize, which will recognize innovation in advocacy by individuals or organizations working in the field of TB, MDR-TB and TB/HIV. Nominations will be accepted until 19 September via a form available on the organization's web site. The winner will be honoured on the occasion of the Union World Conference on Lung Health in Paris in October and receive $2000 to continue or scale up advocacy efforts. For more information, contact Paul Thorn at paulthornlondon@hotmail.com.

The Global Health Initiative of the World Economic Forum, which serves as focal point for the private sector in the Stop TB Partnership, is calling for nominations for the Private Sector Member and Alternate positions on the Partnership's Coordinating Board. Membership on the Board represents a unique opportunity for a committed corporate sector leader to help shape the Stop TB Partnership and provide strategic guidance for the private sector's TB response. The closing date for nominations is 10 September 2008.

More information and nomination forms

The Global Drug Facility (GDF) is seeking the services of an agency or agencies to undertake independent desk audit assessment of mission reports from annual visits to GDF grant recipients and/or direct procurement clients. Sealed proposals must be received by 17:00 pm, GMT + 1 on 17th August 2008.

Click here for more information

The Stop TB Partnership's Challenge Facility for Civil Society is currently accepting proposals for its second round of grants. The Challenge Facility provides financial support to grass-roots civil society organizations engaged in advocacy and social mobilization activities seeking to raise awareness and shape policy-making for TB control at the local and national levels. Applications focusing on all aspects of TB -- multidrug-resistant TB, TB/HIV, and neglected populations, for example -- are welcome.

Who can apply, How to apply

The Coordinating Board of the Stop TB Partnership, during its meeting in Cairo from 6 to 7 May, discussed and formally adopted the findings of the Independent External Evaluation of the Stop TB Partnership completed by MicKinsey and Company. The evaluation contained a number of recommendations on the way forward for the Partnership. These recommendations, along with the Board's decisions on necessary modifications, will be posted on the Web site as soon as possible.

19 February 2008
The Stop TB Partnership and the Kochon Foundation are pleased to announce nominations are open for the 2008 prize. The Prize is awarded to persons, institutions or organizations, which have made a major contribution to stopping tuberculosis. The deadline for submission is 11th April 2008. Click here to apply

The WHO Collaborating Centre for Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, S. Maugeri Foundation in Tradate Italy and the WHO Stop TB Department will run a training workshop on Public-Private Mix for TB control from 14-19 April 2008 in Sondalo. For further information and registration please write to rosella.centis@fsm.it

19 February, 2008 - From September through December 2007 the Global Drug Facility (GDF) conducted a competitive selection process among pre-qualified first-line drug manufacturers through its Procurement Agent, GTZ.

This competitive process is now complete, and GDF and GTZ are pleased to announce that awards have been made to five suppliers. Four of them - Svizera, Cadila, Strides and Lupin - were already serving as GDF suppliers. One new supplier, Macleods, also was selected. This expansion in the supplier pool indicates strong interest and competition among manufacturers, and augurs well for favourable pricing and availability of high quality anti-TB drugs.

GDF and GTZ have also introduced a new pricing system for first-line drugs that provides firmer estimates of total costs. Through consultation and cooperation with its agents, GDF is now able to list prices inclusive of quality assurance (QA) and Procurement Agent (PA) costs - a move that will aid clients in their budgeting and planning and lead to a more efficient drug procurement process.

GDF is committed to providing affordable high-quality anti-tuberculosis (TB) drugs to countries with a high TB burden and stimulating capacity and competition in the production sector.

The Partnership has a variety of open meetings scheduled immediately preceding and during the Conference, between 5-13 November.
Roadmap to Partnership meetings
Conference link

A civil society meeting focussing on TB across the wider European region will take place from 09.00 until 18.00 at the Hilton Hotel in Berlin on Sunday 21 October. The event, which has been sponsored by the Public Health Programme of the Open Society Institute, will bring together representatives and groups working with prisoners and the homeless, migrant and Roma communities. Other participants will include health workers, trade unions and groups advocating on behalf of children.

More information

To ensure that the GDF continues to operate effectively as it takes on such new challenges, the GDF Business Advisory Committee (BAC) considers the complex set of business issues specifically relevant to GDF procurement operations and strategy implementation and makes recommendations to GDF and the Stop TB Partnership Coordinating Board.

GDF is currently seeking nominations for two new candidates to serve on the GDF BAC.

If you or someone you know would be a suitable candidate for the BAC, please submit your nomination to the GDF. Generally, candidates for the BAC should have significant expertise and relationships in one or more of the following fields: raw material manufacturing, pharmacy, product formulation for drugs and diagnostics, contract law, business development, competitive procurement processes, pricing and distribution. For this call, GDF is particularly interested in candidates with expertise in quality assurance including prequalification, regulatory law with an emphasis on drug registration, an understanding of market dynamics for second-line anti-TB drugs, or marketing and resource mobilization. Nominations should include a short cover letter explaining why the candidate would be a valuable contributor to the BAC, as well as a CV or resume for the candidate.

All nominations and materials must be sent by email to the GDF. Emails should be directed to gdf@who.int with the subject heading: NOMINATION FOR GDF BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE. The closing date for receipt of nominations is October 1st 2007.

The Stop TB Partnership Secretariat is pleased to announce the following 22 organizations whose proposals have been recommended for funding amounting to US$ 384 038.87

Click here for more information

The Working Group on MDR-TB of the Stop TB Partnership will meet from 20 to 22 September 2007 in Tbilisi. The meeting will bring together people who have worked on projects approved by the Green Light Committee and representatives from countries around the world that are engaged in MDR-TB management. Its aim is to share best practices and challenges with view to developing strategies for accelerating the scale up of MDR-TB management in accordance with the Global MDR-TB and XDR-TB Response Plan 2007-2008. The MDR-TB Working Group is a global forum on MDR-TB management open to all interested parties.

Draft agenda

25 June, 2007 - The Global Drug Facility (GDF) is currently seeking nominations of experts in tuberculosis (TB) control and drug management to join its Technical Review Committee (TRC). The GDF TRC is responsible for reviewing applications to GDF for grants of free anti-TB drugs, and advising the Stop TB Partnership on which grant applications to accept and the level and nature of the grant to provide.

If you or someone you know would be a suitable candidate for the TRC, please submit your nomination to GDF. Candidates for the TRC should have significant expertise and experience in one or more of the following fields: Clinical TB, TB Diagnostics, Drug management, Human Resource Management, International Development, International Financing for anti-TB Drugs, MDR/XDR TB, Paediatric TB, Procurement and Logistics, TB Epidemiology, TB Monitoring and Evaluation and TB/HIV.
All nominations and materials must be sent by email to GDF by 30 July 2007. Emails should be directed to gdf@who.int with the subject heading: "NOMINATION FOR GDF Technical Review Committee". For more information, click here.

The sixteenth round of applications to the Global Drug Facility (GDF) is now open and the GDF Secretariat is accepting applications from governments for grants of free first-line paediatric anti-tuberculosis drugs. The closing date for receipt of applications is 04 June 2007.
Click here to read the complete announcement: English, French

The Stop TB Partnership Challenge Fund for Civil Society (CFCS) is a mechanism to provide financial support to small groups of civil society organizations and for funding advocacy and social mobilization activities at the grass roots level. It is targeted at civil society groups that are seeking to shape policy-making at local and national levels.

Click here to find out more

The RFP posted on the above allowed clarifications to be sought until 30 March. Based on the queries received, placed below is a general response to the collective queries raised. This might be of help to those wishing to send in a proposal by the stated deadline in the RFP.

Generalised Questions and answers on the RFP
WHO Data collection form for TB Control Programmes

Please note that the deadline for questions on the RFP is now past and no further responses will be possible.

GDF Diagnostic Kits provide the laboratory equipment and consumables needed to diagnose Tuberculosis. These standardized kits were piloted and evaluated in three countries and found to represent a valuable contribution to improving case finding, laboratory performance and correct diagnosis of TB. The new kits continue a GDF tradition of packaging essential, high quality products in ways that simplify the work of national programmes.

Click here to find out more about GDF diagnostic kits and their evaluation.