TB is the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent globally responsible for major morbidity, mortality, and economic cost in many countries around the globe. The WHO End TB Strategy adopted by Member States in 2014 stipulates that major technological breakthroughs are needed by 2025, in order to immediately accelerate the reduction of TB incidence. The Moscow Declaration to End TB, adopted by almost 120 national delegations, on 17 November 2017, called upon WHO, working in close cooperation with partners, to develop Global Strategy for TB Research and Innovation. Ministers of health and other high-level participants committed to support its development. Furthermore, as part of discussions on the preparation for the United Nations General Assembly high-level meeting on TB, the World Health Assembly at its 71st session in May 2018 requested the Director-General to develop, working in close collaboration with all relevant partners, a Global Strategy for TB Research and Innovation, “to make further progress in enhancing cooperation and coordination in respect of tuberculosis research and development.
In response to this request, WHO prepared the current draft Global Strategy drawing on consultation with scientists, national TB programme managers and other officials from within and beyond ministries of health, including ministries of science and technology, and representatives of civil society and affected communities, research funding institutions and other TB research and innovation stakeholders, through meetings organized in IVQ 2018 and 1Q 2019. All stakeholders are welcome to comment. Member States are also encouraged to use this opportunity to communicate their views to enable WHO to develop a Global Strategy that fully reflects their needs and priorities. WHO will make available all the comments received on its website.
Based on the comments received on this draft, WHO will prepare and present a second draft of the Global Strategy for WHO regional offices, before it is submitted for consideration by the Executive Board at its 146th session in January 2020.
Questions pertaining to this process can be addressed to gtbprogramme@who.int.