Stop TB Partnership

TB Alert launches free TB training for civil society organizations in England

14 September 2011 - London - TB Alert, the UK’s national tuberculosis (TB) charity, is rolling out TB capacity building training courses, for civil society organisations in England, as part of The Truth About TB awareness programme This follows a successful pilot which was held in August. The programme has been developed by TB Alert as the lead partner of the Department of Health in delivering the TB awareness objectives of the TB Action Plan for England.

The Truth About TB aims to reduce the time between onset of symptoms and diagnosis for TB, and to improve TB service design and delivery - in order to address the twenty year rise in rates of TB in England. The programme supports the development of TB awareness raising partnerships between statutory providers, and civil society organisations that work with the groups known to be most at-risk from tuberculosis. These groups include people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, refugees and asylum seekers, people with substance misuse issues and people living with HIV.

The training programme aims to build the TB knowledge and capacity of civil society organisations to raise awareness of TB and to become effective advocates for their communities. This work began with a series of seminars for civil society leaders, to raise their awareness of the impact of TB on their client group. The seminars are now being followed by capacity building training for programme staff, focused within major cities that experience the highest incidence of TB in England. The training will provide interactive sessions on TB the illness, how it affects local communities and guidance on developing and evaluating TB awareness programmes - which will include guidance on using the free TB awareness resource pack that comes with the training.

The courses run for two days on the following dates in 2011, with more dates to follow in 2012:

04-05 October	Liverpool
10-11 October	Bristol
17-18 October	Birmingham
07-08 November	Leeds
14-15 November	London (NE)
21-22 November	London (NW)
28-29 November	Manchester

To find out more about The Truth About TB programme, please contact Elias Phiri, Head of Awareness Programmes, TB Alert: +44 (0)1273 234028, +44 (0)7969 178688, elias.phiri@tbalert.org.