24 November 2023, Geneva, Switzerland - The Stop TB Partnership’s TB REACH initiative launched the Wave 11 call for applications on 17 November, 2023 at a special event held during the 23rd Union World Conference on Lung Health in Paris.
Wave 11 from TB REACH is focused on innovative and people-centered approaches for integrated services for TB and other diseases at the primary and community levels of health systems. These approaches will aim to provide access to people with TB and other lung conditions, closest to the first point of contact with the health system.
The new call for proposals is open to applicants in more than 90 countries and targets different types of organizations working in high TB burden countries. Applicants can apply for grants worth up to USD 550,000.
The TB REACH Wave 11 call for proposals is focused on innovative approaches to integrate TB service delivery with lung health at the primary and community level of the health systems.
All wave 11 proposals must demonstrate how their interventions will contribute to the following:
- Improve detection and care for people with TB.
- Promote people-centred integrated service delivery (ISD) for TB and lung comorbidities.
- Include gender-responsive interventions for people with or affected by TB.
- Aim for sustainability by engaging with the government, Global Fund, and other partners.
All application details, background documents and links can be found at https://www.stoptb.org/waves-of-funding/wave-11 .
TB REACH Wave 11 will be a two-stage application process. An independent Proposal Review Committee (PRC) will select a group of Stage 1 applicants in March to be invited to submit a more detailed Stage 2 application. Final funding decisions will be made in June 2024.
“We are grateful to the new Canadian commitment for TB REACH announced at the HLM in New York, which has allowed us to launch the call for proposals, and we are engaging with other potential donors to broaden the funding for this critical area of work”, said Lucica Ditiu, Executive Director, Stop TB Partnership.
“TB REACH is the only global mechanism in the TB community that provides fast-track funding directly to implementing partners in the country to test innovations that other donors may not be able to support. We have supported everything from donkeys to drones, artificial intelligence, portable X-ray, molecular diagnosis, to the vital touch of human TB champions and we look forward to all the new ideas that will come from Wave 11”, she added.
While more people with TB were started on treatment in 2022 than ever before, globally we still miss more than 3 million who fall ill every year. Among those diagnosed TB multimorbidity is a growing concern with many people with TB having other comorbid conditions such as HIV, diabetes, malnourishment, and substance abuse – and many people who do not have TB have other lung conditions. WHO reports that 2 out of 3 people with TB suffer from at least one non-communicable disease; and more than 70% of people with TB will develop mental illness during their treatment. This contributes to poor treatment outcomes and exposes people with TB to adverse social and economic consequences.
Wave 11 will focus on the primary and community levels of the health systems, where respiratory symptoms account for the most common reason for visits, globally. Providing integrated services closer to communities will ensure that we do not miss out on people with TB and provide linkage to care for other respiratory illnesses that cause suffering including COPD, asthma, acute lower respiratory tract infections and lung cancer.
“TB REACH has always championed innovation in TB care delivery and through this call for proposals we expect applications that show how to better provide needed care to people with TB and other diseases closer to where they live and work,” said Jacob Creswell, Head of Innovations and Grants at Stop TB. “We must recognize that people with TB often suffer from a variety of other issues, and we are seeking proposals that contribute to strengthening primary and community care while providing integrated care to people who need it.”
TB REACH provides direct funding to in-country partners to deliver innovative care to people with TB. TB REACH has been funded by Global Affairs Canada since its inception in 2010, and has also received generous funding from USAID, the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
TB REACH projects have supported the diagnosis and treatment of more than 2.7 million people with TB in 56 countries globally and helped shape many global and national TB guidelines through evidence generation. Stop TB and Global Fund also work together to take learnings from TB REACH projects to help inform country decisions about larger investments to scale up successful approaches.