12 March 2020, Geneva, Switzerland - In a first for the Stop TB Partnership, 33 TB champions representing TB Affected Communities, Developing Country NGOs and Developed Country NGOs constituencies, have been selected to support the affected community and civil society Board Members.

In January 2019, the Stop TB Partnership Board endorsed the initiative of the TB affected communities and NGO constituencies to establish delegations in order to improve communication and engagement, strengthen accountability and enhance institutional memory of the constituencies. The Stop TB Partnership Secretariat was charged to explore ways to support the delegation building process. This Board decision followed the UN High-Level Meeting (HLM) on TB, where world leaders committed to transforming the TB response to be ‘equitable, rights-based and people-centered.’

The four civil society and affected communities Board members with support from Stop TB Secretariat organized the process that led to the selection of all delegations members from Africa, Asia, the Americas as well as Europe and Central Asia.

In the lead up to the 32^nd Board Meeting, Stop TB Partnership ensured that representatives of the delegations were part of the pre-Board briefings as well as a Strategic Dialogue on 9-10 December that brought together Board members, members of the Red Cross Red Crescent national society, representatives from Global TB Caucus and local Indonesian civil society and TB survivors.

 

Reactions

"We will only succeed with the full partnership and collaboration of the civil society and the people and communities affected by TB. We need you to continue to demand better care, better treatment, and a seat at every table when TB is discussed," said Minister of Health of Brazil and Stop TB Partnership Board Chair, Dr. Luiz Henrique Mandetta.
 
 “This was an important opportunity for Indonesia TB survivors to join the global discussion, to be introduced to delegations, to share our experiences, to build our knowledge and to strategize with TB survivors from around the world,” said Budi Herawan, POP TB Indonesia.

By establishing Delegations, we have taken an important step in ensuring our voices are heard and that TB affected communities to become leaders of the TB response national, regionally and globally,” said Thokozile Nkhoma, Affected Communities Board Member.

Austin Obiefuna, Developing Country NGOs Board Member, highlighted that the calls for human rights and communities, rights and gender (CRG) approach in TB more generally has primarily been coming from civil society and affected communities. “There is now much more discussion on CRG, and this extends to the commitments in the UNHLM on TB Political Declaration. We must leverage our enhanced coordination to increase investment in initiatives, including through securing funding for the ‘Communities for TB ASAP’ proposal, that will help to overcome social, legal and economic barriers to universal TB access.”

“We as delegations must take the next step to formalize our engagement, to continue to engage local partners -like we have done here in Indonesia- but to also build upon the support we have received from the Stop TB Secretariat and operate independently, “ said Olive Mumba, Developing NGOs Delegation.

“We will not meet our national and our global targets without civil society and affected communities. We must now leverage our three delegations to scale up community-led monitoring of TB programs, the advancement of scorecards which can celebrate improvements or challenges with TB data or policies or investments and advocacy to ensure that TB continues to raise the national agenda in all countries,” said Aaron Oxley, Developed NGO Board Member.

 

Membership of the delegations

Developing Country NGO Delegation Names Organization Country of Work Austin Obiefuna (Board Member) Afro Global Alliance Ghana Amara Quesada ACHIEVE Philippines Bertrand Kampoer DRAF TB Cameroon Choub Sok Chamerun KHANA Cambodia Márcia Leão Stop TB Brasil Brasil Mayowa Joel Stop TB Nigeria Nigeria Olive Mumba EANNASO Tanzania Philip Wugeru NOPE Kenya Stela Bivol PAS Center Moldova Subrat Mohanty UNION India India

Developed Country NGO Delegation Names Organization Country of Work Aaron Oxley (Board Member) RESULTS UK United Kingdom David Bryden RESULTS Education United States Deliana Garcia Migrants Clinicians Network United States Janika Hauser RESULTS UK United Kingdom Katy Kydd Wright International Civil Society Support Canada Olya Golichenko Frontline AIDS United Kingdom

Affected Communities Delegation Names Organization Country of Work Thokozile Nkhoma (Board Member) Facilitators of Community Transformation Malawi Timur Abdullaev (Board Member) TBpeople Uzbekistan Abdulai Sesay CISMAT Sierra Leone Albert Makone Shiloah Zimbabwe Carol Nawina CITAM+ Zambia Dilshat Haitov TBpeople Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan Endalkachew Fekadu Volunteer Health Services Ethiopia Fabrice Kotoko L'Association des Anciens Patients Tuberculeux du Bénin Benin Kate O’Brien We are TB United States Ksenia Shchenina TBpeople Russian Federation Maurine Murenga Lean on Me Foundation Kenya Maxime Lunga Club des Amis Damien DRC Meirinda Sebayang Jaringan Indonesia Positif Indonesia Olya Klymenko TBpeople Ukraine Ukraine Paul Thorn TBpeople United Kingdom Peter Ng’ola Wote Youth Development Projects Kenya Rhea Lobo Bolo Didi India

Access below detailed information about the members: Developing Country NGO Delegation Developed Country NGO Delegation Affected Communities Delegation