NOTE FOR THE RECORD: Introductory Meeting of the WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Tuberculosis (STAG-TB)

Overview

An introductory meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO) Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for tuberculosis (STAG-TB) was held on 24-25 June 2020. The purpose of this meeting was to orient new STAG-TB members on their roles, the work of WHO and its Global TB Programme and to overview the draft 2020 progress report of the UN Secretary General on TB. In addition, a spotlight was placed on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the TB response. The meeting was led by Dr Ariel Pablos-Méndez, STAG-TB Chair. All 15 STAG-TB members participated actively in the meeting. The second day included a special session with WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and key partners – Stop TB Partnership, Global Fund and UNITAID. The meeting was organized by the WHO Global TB Programme secretariat. A brief overview of the introductory meeting is presented below.