Finalized development and dissemination of three case studies: Using Incentives to Improve TB Treatment Results in Tajikistan (Project Hope); TB Control in Karaganda Prisons through DOTS (Project HOPE); and Integrating TB and HIV Care in Mozambique: Lessons from an HIV Clinic in Beira (Health Alliance International).
2004 Working Group Highlights:
TB Technical Reference Materials
In collaboration with USAID, the TB Working Group finalized a detailed and concise guide to programming for TB control using the DOTS strategy, widely disseminated the TB Technical Reference Materials (TRMs) in English, and translated the TRMs into Russian with subsequent electronic dissemination to NGO staff based in Central Asia.
Technical Seminar: How Not to Program for TB: Mistakes and Lessons from the Field
The TB Working Group hosted a one-day technical seminar in October 2003 to review the TB TRMs. A panel of experts shared lessons learned in how to deal with problems that commonly arise when implementing the DOTS strategy, including diagnosis, case finding, drug supply, information analysis and use, working with partners, communication issues, incentives and enablers, private - public sector systems, and TB co-infection with HIV.
Tuberculosis Control Programming for NGOs
In collaboration with USAID and Tuberculosis Coalition for Technical Assistance, the TB Working Group developed a draft facilitator's guide and curriculum for a four-day interactive course for U.S. and field-based NGO program managers or their supervisors involved in or considering involvement in TB control programming. CORE sponsored a field test for the course in October 2004, during which participants from the U.S. and eight countries designed and presented plans for TB control programs. The final curriculum will be available in early 2005.
Tuberculosis Case Studies
The Working Group produced three case studies of successful NGO TB interventions in Kosovo and Central Asia to share lessons learned and to be used for discussion in the TB Control Course. Doctors of the World completed a case study titled Implementation of a National Tuberculosis Control Program in Minority Communities: Accomplishments and Challenges from Kosovo. Project HOPE completed two TB case studies: 1) Tuberculosis Control in Karaganda Prison through DOTS: Lessons from Kazakhstan, and 2) Using Incentives to Improve Tuberculosis Treatment Results: Lessons from Tajikistan.
Stop TB Partnership
In 2004, CORE joined the global Stop TB Partnership to ensure that the NGO voice is heard on policy decisions affecting scale-up of TB control efforts, and that TB control efforts reach poor and marginalized communities. NGOs have the ability to mount a quick response to TB outbreaks, can increase case detection rates due to their involvement at the community level, have broad access to hard-to-reach populations, and can experiment with service delivery methods. Working Group representatives participated in Stop TB meetings in New Delhi, India, at the IUATLD 34th World Conference in Paris, France, and at the WHO DOTS Expansion Meeting in The Hague.
