Communities, nongovernmental and other civil society organizations commit to step up action to End TB

02 December, Cape Town - Over 150 representatives from communities, nongovernmental (NGOs) and other civil society organizations (CSOs), countries, and partners, pledged their support and commitment to end TB in a historic Statement of Action - which was launched today at the Global TB Symposium in Cape Town.

“With the new WHO End TB Strategy setting out ambitious targets for ending TB by 2030 and with the world ushering in the new era of the Sustainable Development Goals, we now need strong momentum on the ground to push for the end of TB,” said Dr Mario Raviglione, Director of the WHO Global TB Programme. "NGOs and CSOs have an unmatched capacity to serve as an important trigger to enhance awareness and action for community-based TB activities.”  

The Statement of Action is the product of a preceding WHO TB Consultation held in Addis Ababa on 13 November, 2015. The consultation brought together 90 NGOs and other CSOs, along with national TB programmes and donors, to dialogue and share best practices, innovative approaches, challenges and opportunities in their community-based activities within and beyond TB care and health. The participants explored concrete ways in which they could work together, alongside governments and other partners, to ensure effective implementation of the WHO End TB Strategy. The meeting agenda was also informed by detailed inputs from 400 NGOs and other CSOs  who participated  in an advance online consultation.  

Following intense discussions at the consultation, a joint statement was drawn up - outlining 20 priority actions for NGOs and other CSOs, national TB programmes, Ministries of Health and other line ministries, The Global Fund and other bilateral and multilateral donors as well as for WHO. Their implementation will be crucial for ensuring enhanced engagement of NGOs and CSOs in TB care.

“Innovative and effective strategies to reach out to communities need to be scaled-up quickly and built on existing structures, so that important gains achieved through community work is not overlooked,” said Lucy Chesire, of the TB Advocacy Consortium  of Kenya who presented the statement of action on behalf of the 90 NGOs and CSOs at the  Global TB  Symposium. “TB-related activities can be easily integrated into existing projects of NGOs and CSOs without significant additional costs, which can in turn contribute towards better TB prevention and care.”

The Statement of Action was widely shared this week at the first End TB Strategy Summit for 30 high-TB burden countries and was also presented at the Global TB Symposium, held in advance of the 46th Union World Conference on Lung Health.

“As we start rolling out the End TB Strategy in 2016, it is critical that national TB programmes open their doors to communities, NGOs and other CSOs”, said Dr Haileyesus Getahun, Coordinator, TB/HIV and Community Engagement. "WHO will step up its efforts to facilitate such partnerships between national  TB programmes, NGOs and other CSOs."

Source: Global TB Programme NewsFlash