Stop TB Working Group on MDR-TB   

Structure

Governance

The WG is one of the seven working groups that report to the Stop TB Partnership Coordinating Board and to the Assistant Director General of the HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria (HTM) cluster of WHO. The WG Secretariat is housed at WHO.

Composition (membership)

The WG is composed of representatives of Stop TB Partnership members, including national disease control programmes, Ministries of Health, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community representatives, bilateral and multilateral aid agencies, supra-national laboratories, the corporate sector as well as technical experts who serve in their personal capacity.

Membership is based on the following basic criteria:

• The prime qualification for membership is a shared understanding of the mission and goals of the WG;
• Members are expected to engage in activities to achieve those goals;
• Members are expected to attend the annual meeting;
• Members of the WG employed by large institutions are expected to support Secretariat and WG activities through financial or staff support, and by hosting meetings of the WG, Core Group (CG), or ad hoc/subgroups;
• Specific individuals may be invited to participate in meetings based on their potential contribution to the activities of the WG.

Chair and Vice-Chair

The Chair of the WG is responsible for chairing the WG meeting and meetings of the CG. The Chair also represents the WG on the Coordinating Board of the Stop TB Partnership, and acts as the chief liaison between the partnership and the WG. The Vice-Chair will perform the duties of the Chair if the Chair is unavailable, including both WG and liaison activities. If neither the Chair nor the Vice-Chair is available to perform their duties, the CG will designate a representative of the CG or the WG Secretariat;

The joint functions of the Chair and Vice-Chair are defined as follows:

• Oversee the WG and its associated sub-groups and task forces; and monitor implementation of the recommendations of the WG;
• Lead and coordinate the WG in an effective response to the challenges of scaling up MDR-TB and XDR-TB management, including diagnostics, treatment, infection control, and appropriate infrastructure development;
• Coordinate and expand a broad-based and inclusive global partnership to ensure MDR-TB diagnosis and treatment scale-up in all sectors of society affected by MDR-TB, including vulnerable and marginalised populations, as outlined in the Global Plan to Stop TB 2006-2015 and the Global MDR-TB and XDR-TB Response Plan 2007-2008;
• Guide and coordinate a proactive and comprehensive resource mobilization plan for the WG aimed at securing the financial, human and infrastructure resources needed to effectively meet the demands of MDR-TB scale-up;
• Foster coordination, dynamic interaction and exchange among all members of the WG and its subgroups, as well as other members of the Stop TB Partnership;
• Assume joint responsibility with the WG Secretariat in ensuring implementation of the recommendations of the WG and the CG;
• Amplify the collective voice and engage the expertise of the entire MDR WG.

Core Group (CG)

The CG was established at the 2002 WG meeting in Tallinn, Estonia, to provide leadership and set strategic direction for the work of the WG. The CG is designed to facilitate and accelerate decision-making, and to act as a catalyst to effective implementation of the Global Plan to Stop TB 2006-2015 and its Global MDR-TB & XDR-TB Response Plan 2007-2008. While meeting these objectives first and foremost, every effort will be made to ensure that the Core Group is reflective of the WG membership.

The CG is composed of the Chair and Vice-Chair, the chairs of the WG subgroups , and representatives of the following membership categories: Global Laboratory Initiative (GLI), donor agencies, NGOs, TB control programmes (including MDR-TB programmes), individual MDR-TB experts and MDR-TB patients. Efforts should be made to ensure regional equity and institutional representation. However, the final selection of candidates should be guided by competencies, motivation, and availability to do the required work. Members are selected by the Chair of the WG after consultation with the sitting CG and the WG Secretariat. Members will serve for three years with the possibility of a renewal at the end of the term. A rolling renewal system will apply. Additional participants with requisite experience can be co-opted for individual meetings after discussion with the Chair and Secretariat.

The CG members form the coordinating centre of the WG. Therefore CG members have to be able and willing to devote time to the activities related to the TOR listed below (see code of conduct referred to in paragraph 4.5).

The TOR of the CG include:

• To assist with preparatory work for the (annual) WG meeting;
• To assist the Chair and Vice-Chair in determining and addressing strategic and operational issues.
• To initiate and oversee the activities of the ad-hoc task forces and subgroups of the WG;
• To closely collaborate with and consult the other Stop TB WGs on crosscutting issues;

Secretariat

The Secretariat, housed at WHO, is answerable to the WG and operates under the WHO system within the TB/HIV and Drug Resistance unit (THD) of the Stop TB Department. The Secretariat also serves as the WHO representation in the CG.

The Secretariat works in close collaboration with and follows guidance from the CG. However, initiative for action can come from either the CG and or the Secretariat, but should always include the other.

The TOR are:

• Organizing the meetings of the Working Group and the Core Group;
• Preparing the agenda and relevant documents for these meetings (in consultation with the Chair and relevant members of the Core Group and other subgroups);
• Producing and distributing meeting reports;
• Monitoring and facilitating the implementation of the recommendations of the Core and Working Groups;
• Managing resources provided for the functioning of the WG;
• Proposing new actions to the Core Group (through the Chair, copying all CG members);
• Updating membership information (addresses, field of interest, etc).
• Assuring that the WG functions in an accountable and transparent manner.