The Green Light Committee (GLC) Initiative
What is the Green Light Committee Initiative?
GLC Initiative
Component two of the Stop TB Strategy calls for the control and prevention of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) through: (i) increased access to quality-assured second-line anti-TB drugs; and (ii) prevention of development of resistance to anti-TB drugs.
The Green Light Committee (GLC) Initiative, together with the Working Group on MDR-TB, promotes implementation of this strategy in accordance with the Global Plan to Stop TB (2006–2015) and the Global MDR/XDR-TB Response plan (2007–2008).
Established in 2000, the GLC Initiative is the mechanism that enables access to affordable, high-quality, second-line anti-TB drugs for the treatment of MDR-TB. Its objectives are:
- ensuring effective treatment of patients with MDR-TB in accordance with guidelines published by the World Health Organization (WHO) on the programmatic management of MDR-TB;
- increasing access to technical assistance to facilitate rapid scale-up of MDR-TB management;
- increasing access to high-quality, low-cost, second-line anti-TB drugs for the treatment of MDR-TB among well-performing programmes; preventing the development of resistance to second-line anti-TB drugs by ensuring rational drug use;
- advising WHO on policy-related matters to effectively prevent and control MDR-TB based on the best available scientific evidence.
The GLC Initiative therefore contributes to reducing transmission of TB, preventing further drug resistance and ultimately reducing the global burden of TB. The Initiative is coordinated by the GLC Secretariat, which is hosted and administered by WHO. The Global Drug Facility (GDF), an arm of the Stop TB Partnership, which is also hosted and administered by WHO, carries out drug procurement for GLC-approved programmes. Technical assistance to MDR-TB programmes is coordinated and delivered by WHO and its technical partners.
