Tuberculosis (TB)

WHO issues a position statement on the continued use of the shorter MDR-TB regimen following an expedited review of the STREAM Stage 1 preliminary results

13 April 2018 – In response to several queries to WHO from member states and other major stakeholders on the continued use of the shorter regimen for MDR-TB, following the release of preliminary results of the STREAM Stage 1 phase III randomized controlled trial, the WHO Global Tuberculosis Programme completed an expedited review of data provided by the STREAM trial consortium in January 2018.

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Interactive civil society hearing to be held on 4 June 2018 in preparation for the UN high-level meeting on TB: 27 April is deadline for applications for accreditation for the hearing and/or the UN HLM

05 April 2018 - The President of the UN General Assembly has announced that the interactive civil society hearing will be held on 4 June 2018 at the United Nations in New York, as part of the preparatory process for the UN high-level meeting on tuberculosis (UN HLM). The hearing was requested in the modalities resolution for the UN HLM adopted yesterday by the UN General Assembly.

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WHO Executive Board adopts resolution on upcoming UN General Assembly high-level meeting on TB

04 April 2018 - The resolution on the scope, modalities, format and organization of the UN high-level meeting on the fight against tuberculosis (TB) has just been adopted by the UN General Assembly this afternoon in New York. Member States in the resolution, decided that the one-day high-level meeting on the fight against TB would be convened by the President of the General Assembly in New York on 26 September - the second day of the UN General Assembly general debate. The theme of the meeting is “United to end tuberculosis: an urgent global response to a global epidemic”.

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World TB Day 2018 - Wanted: Leaders for a TB-free world

24 March 2018 - The theme of World TB Day 2018, “Wanted: Leaders for a TB-free world”, focuses on building commitment to end TB, not only at the political level with Heads of State and Ministers of Health, but at all levels from Mayors, Governors, parliamentarians and community leaders, to people affected with TB, civil society advocates, health workers, doctors or nurses, NGOs and other partners. All can be leaders of efforts to end TB in their own work or terrain.

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• World TB Day message by Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director, WHO Global TB Programme

• WHO and the Stop TB Partnership join hands to rally Heads of States to End TB

• WTBD 2018 website

WHO issues recommendations on management of isoniazid-resistant tuberculosis

16 March 2018 - Within the context of an ongoing extensive review of evidence on treatment of drug-resistant (TB) taking place in 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a Supplement to its current drug-resistant TB treatment guidelines, providing recommendations for the management of isoniazid-resistant TB. These will be incorporated into the Consolidated Guidelines for Treatment and Care of Drug-resistant TB envisaged by WHO later in 2018.

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WHO and USAID release guide to support countries in developing national action plans on public-private mix for TB prevention and care

23 February 2018 – The World Health Organization and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have released a new guide to help countries strategically and systematically scale-up the engagement of all care providers in TB prevention and care.

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• Download the Guide