As part of the ongoing 2by4 communications and advocacy campaign the first mini-series of e-consultation and key informant interviews is on the theme: Women and TB. 2by4 campaign focusses on two key populations (women and children) and four key issues (multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB); laboratory and diagnostics; private-public partnerships (PPP); TB-HIV collaborative activities.

'Two by Four: 2by4' is a time-limited communications' campaign hosted by Citizen News Service - CNS, a partner of Stop TB Partnership, on the Global Stop-TB eForum and other platforms CNS is part of. The 2by4 campaign runs for two months from 24th February to 24th April 2013.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today launched a new Issue Brief TRIPS transition period extensions for least-developed countries. The Issue Brief outlines that failure to extend the transition period for least-developed countries to become fully compliant with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) could seriously impede access to lifesaving antiretroviral treatment and other essential medicines for people most in need.

Across-the-board cuts to US R&D programs could have a devastating impact on efforts to develop new drugs for tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS, the world's first malaria vaccine, and other vital global health products in development, according to a new report from a coalition of nonprofit groups focused on advancing innovation to save lives.

BRUSSELS - Over the course of two weeks in 2011, Stefan Radut lost seven kilos in weight. He coughed constantly. He was chronically tired and had difficulty sleeping. His girlfriend finally persuaded him to go to a doctor.

At least two thirds of people living with HIV infection are in sub-Saharan Africa, where fragile health systems, health workforce shortages, weak laboratory infrastructure, and fiscal constraints are ubiquitous. Debates about how best to use ART for both prevention and individual health are most relevant to the generalized HIV epidemics in this poorest geographic region.

I was quoted in the article "Global TB Fight Hits a Wall" (page one, Feb. 16) in a way that implies the World Health Organization is critical of the work of the Revised National TB Control Program of India. This isn't the case. The comments made in my interview with the reporter focused on WHO recommendations, not the government of India's implementation of them. India is addressing the issue of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis with a plan endorsed by international experts, including the WHO, during the latest monitoring mission in August. The WHO has worked closely with India for the past two decades to address this public health crisis, and we commend the prioritization given to this issue by the government.

The recently released fourth annual edition of the financing series of the Institute of Health and Metric Evaluation (IHME), ‘Financing Global Health 2012: The End of the Golden Age?’ tracks Development Assistance for Health (DAH) from government aid agencies, multilateral donors, and private foundations. It also analyses health spending from governments in developing countries between 1990 and 2010. By combining health funding estimates with the results of the newly published Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2010, the report provides metrics that can help inform donor priority setting. Comparisons between the amount of DAH that a country receives and its disease burden provide useful tools for assessing need versus funding.

In a nationwide survey in 2011, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) was found in 5.2% and 40.8% of patients with new and previously treated TB, respectively. These levels of drug resistance are among the highest ever documented in Africa and the Middle East. This finding presents a serious challenge for TB control in Somalia.

An international team of scientists has discovered how an important natural antibiotic called dermcidin, produced by our skin when we sweat, is a highly efficient tool to fight tuberculosis germs and other dangerous bugs.