The Stop TB Partnership released its May 2020 newsletter, summarizing the initiatives and activities carried out during the month.

27 May 2020, Geneva, Switzerland –  On 28 October 2019, the Stop TB Partnership announced the addition of pretomanid to the Global Drug Facility (GDF) catalog as part of a BPaL regimen containing bedaquiline, pretomanid, and linezolid. GDF supplies pretomanid to countries in accordance with WHO recommendations for people with extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) when used under operational research conditions.

15 May 2020, Geneva, Switzerland – Three products have recently been made available to support TB programmes’ efforts to reach UN TB targets to detect and treat 40 million people with TB by 2022, including 3.5 million children, as well as 1.5 million people with drug-resistant TB. All three tests offer opportunities for multiplexing, with menus of tests for other diseases available, including COVID-19 tests.

The Stop TB Partnership recently released a modeling study showing a devastating effect of COVID-19 pandemic on TB response. Length of quarantine, movement restrictions and disruption of TB services could spell disaster for hundreds of thousands at risk. The world could see 6.3 million more TB cases and 1.4 million more TB deaths by 2025.

6.3 million more people ill with TB and 1.4 million more TB deaths by 2025; Length of quarantine, movement restrictions and disruption of TB services could spell disaster for hundreds of thousands at risk.

The Stop TB Partnership released the first edition of its quarterly newsletter for 2020 detailing the progress of the Global Fund’s Strategic Initiative to Find the Missing People with TB.

To support country programs, communities, people affected by TB, and partners during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Stop TB Partnership’s Strategic Initiatives & Innovative Financing (SIIF) Team, as part of its Re-Imagining TB Care initiative, is organising a series of Virtual Innovation Spotlights to share various health tech solutions that can be used to:

The Stop TB Partnership Secretariat organized a rapid assessment of the impact the COVID-19 pandemic and related measures have on the TB response in 20 high burden countries that represent 54% of the global TB burden, through interviews with National TB Programs (NTPs) and focal points based on a set of open-ended questions. Similarly, the Global Coalition of TB Activists (GCTA) did a worldwide survey through their network of members collecting answers from TB civil society and communities from 16 countries, with data updated regularly.

27 March 2020, Geneva, Switzerland – The Stop TB Partnership’s Global Drug Facility (GDF) has expanded its Diagnostics Catalog to include a new test for novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 disease. The Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 test cartridges are now available at US$19.80 per cartridge from the manufacturer, Cepheid. For the full listing, see the GDF Diagnostics Catalog.

The Stop TB Partnership’s TB REACH launched its Wave 8 round of funding to focus on engaging private providers in the TB response.