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Saudi Arabia to ‘set the milestone tune’ for tuberculosis (TB) elimination
Based on the detailed findings of the assessment, strategic guidance and recommendations on the further strengthening of the national TB programme to accelerate reduction of the TB burden towards elimination, both nationwide and beyond, will be developed. The review mission concluded that TB is one of the national health priorities and that Saudi Arabia has made significant progress in implementing the STOP TB Strategy, in line with international recommendations. High-level political commitment and availability of resources constitute crucial elements in advancing towards the ambitious, but feasible, goal of eliminating TB. Saudi Arabia is ready to assume a leadership role in pursuing the TB elimination process and becoming a model, both in the Region and worldwide, by initiating a national elimination campaign. WHO has been requested and is ready to provide all necessary technical support in rapidly implementing the recommendations of the mission in order to effectively maintain momentum to eliminate TB. Additionally, and building on the national elimination campaign, the Minister of Health is in full support of preparing a strategic document, also with the technical support and collaboration of WHO, which could potentially serve to foster TB elimination in other countries too. This process represents a truly historical milestone for reducing the burden and suffering from TB, not only in the Region but the entire world.
World TB Day
2012 | Stop TB in my Lifetime
World Tuberculosis (TB)
Day, 24 March 2012
World TB Day was
commemorated on 24 March
2012 across the Eastern
Mediterranean Region, with
renewed commitment and
enthusiasm to save lives
from a preventable and
curable disease.
Elaborate activities
were planned by ministries
of health, civil
society, tuberculosis
patients, celebrities and
the media across 23
countries of the Region,
from Afghanistan to Morocco.
The slogan of the Day “Stop
TB in my lifetime” reflects
the desire of every
individual to see an end
to this disease, which
although centuries old, is
easily preventable and
treatable. The Day also
urges action on the
neglected area of childhood
TB. In his message for the
Day, Dr Ala Alwan, WHO
Regional Director for the
Eastern
Mediterranean, expressed his
appreciation of the hard
work of everyone involved in
the fight against the
disease. Countries have been
successful in detecting a
greater number of cases;
expanding care for multidrug-resistant
TB, a more complex form of
the disease; and achieving
progress towards the targets
of the Millennium
Development Goals through
innovative partnerships.
However, Dr Alwan also
warned of the threats facing
tuberculosis control as a
result of reduced funding
from donors, such as the
Global Fund.
Kuwait Patients Helping Fund Society generously procures tuberculosis medicines for patients in Djibouti, April 2011 The Kuwait Patients Helping Fund Society, in collaboration with the Al-Sayer Society, generously funded the procurement of anti-tuberculosis medicines through the Global Drug Facility (GDF) to benefit tuberculosis patients in Djibouti. The medicines received through the GDF were carefully managed by health workers from the central to peripheral levels to ensure that each and every tuberculosis patient had access to these medicines at the right time and in the right place. Through this generous contribution medicine shortages were avoided that could have had a disastrous impact on the health of these patients, and by default, on the society at large.
For World TB Day 2011 we enter the second year of a two-year campaign, On the move against tuberculosis whose goal is to inspire innovation in TB research and care. This year's campaign challenges us to look at the fight against TB in an entirely new way: that every step we take should be a step towards TB elimination. The campaign is inspired by the ambitious new objectives and targets of the Global Plan to Stop TB 2011-2015: Transforming the Fight-Towards Elimination of Tuberculosis, which was launched by the Stop TB Partnership in October 2010. This new plan, for the first time, identifies all the research gaps that need to be filled to bring rapid TB tests, faster treatment regimens and a fully effective vaccine to market. It also shows public health programmes how to drive universal access to TB care, including how to modernize diagnostic laboratories and adopt revolutionary TB tests that have recently become available.
World TB Day
2011
Delegation of
Stop TB
Partnership
meets the First
Lady of Sudan
"A
delegation
of
Stop
TB
Partnership
Sudan
met
Her
Excellency
Ustaza
Fatima
Khalid
Al
Bashir
here
in
Khaurtum
the
other
day
to
discuss
upcoming
World
tuberculosis
day
and
preparations
done
by
the
Partnership.
The
delegation
included
Dr
Hiba
Khamal,
the
NTP
manager
of
Sudan,
Dr
Hayat
El
Mahi,
a
member
of
the
Sudan
Parliament,
Dr
Aayid
Munim,
WHO
Sudan,
Mrs
Sarah
Eliga,
Head
of
the
Women
Federation
Sudan,
Dr
Farah
Arabi,
the
Focal
Person
for
Advocacy,
communication
and
social
mobilization
at
NTP,
and
Dr
Awad
Ibrahim
Awad,
the
Chairperson
of
Stop
TB
partnership
Sudan.
The
First
Lady
appreciated
the
efforts
of
the
Partnership
and
lauded
the
efforts
of
NTP
for
Tb
care
services
in
the
country.
She
informed
the
delegation
of
her
letter
to
the
wives
of
all
state Governors
in
Sudan
urging
them
to
commemorate
the
TB
Day
in a
befitting
way.
Later
the
First
lady
also
gave
donation
for
the
Partnership
activities
on
TB
day".
Intercountry training on
tuberculosis infection
control The Stop Tuberculosis programme at the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean organized a five-day training course on tuberculosis infection control in countries of the Region in Cairo, Egypt, from 12 to 16 December 2010. The training aimed to train master trainers to support capacity building of health workers in the field of infection control and to assist countries in developing a national plan on infection control measures. The training included an introduction to tuberculosis transmission, pathogenesis and tuberculosis infection control; WHO tuberculosis infection control policy; managerial activities and administrative controls. Participants were also oriented on environmental and engineering controls, including air change per hour and how to use vinometer and respiratory protection. Sessions on advocacy and resource mobilization, monitoring and evaluation and human resource development for infection control at national level were also discussed. Participants included multidrug resistance and infection control focal persons from national tuberculosis control programmes from Afghanistan, Djibouti, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia and Yemen and experts from WHO Regional Office and headquarters. To provide hands-on experience to participants, field visits were also organized to an ambulatory treatment facility, outpatient department of a hospital and an inpatient health facility. The training ended with development and presentations of draft national tuberculosis infection control plans. Anti-tuberculosis medicines for children in Afghanistan In 2010, the Ministry of Public Health in Afghanistan received support from the Kuwait Patients Helping Fund Society through the provision of paediatric anti-tuberculosis medicines through the Global Drug Facility to support the national tuberculosis programme. Fourteenth meeting of national tuberculosis programme managers, WHO Regional Office, Cairo, Egypt, 30 November to 2 December
The fourteenth meeting of national tuberculosis programme managers from countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region opened today, 30 November, at the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean in Cairo, Egypt. The meeting was inaugurated jointly by Dr Hussein A. Gezairy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean and Dr Mohamed Awad Tag El Din, the former Minister of Health of Egypt and Chair of the Eastern Mediterranean Partnership to Stop TB. The three-day day meeting aims to share innovations in tuberculosis diagnostics, treatment and estimation of disease burden. Challenges faced by countries in implementation of Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM) grants to provide tuberculosis care and eliminate tuberculosis as a disease in member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council will also be discussed. Dr Jaouad Mahjour, the Director of Communicable Disease Control, WHO Regional Office, and Dr Zuhair Hallaj, Adviser to the Regional Director, praised the progress made by countries in enhancing case detection and improving treatment success rates. They emphasized the need to continue and progressively pursue universal access to tuberculosis care. The meeting will issue recommendations on dealing with tuberculosis among high-risk groups, such as prisoners and mobile populations; tuberculosis/HIV co-infection and contacts; and to expand universal access, will focus on strategies involving public–private mix, strengthening surveillance and involving civil society in tuberculosis care.
DCD
Bulletin: a
quarterly
publication
Tuberculosis control in the
Eastern Mediterranean Region
Support for tuberculosis-affected patients and families in Ramadan 2010 National Stop TB partnerships celebrated the Muslim holy month of Ramadan by supporting tuberculosis-affected patients and families in countries of the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region. Responding to a call by the Eastern Mediterranean Partnership to Stop TB, the regional coalition of public and private health sectors, the media, civil society and the national stop TB partnerships in Afghanistan, Egypt, Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Pakistan and Sudan organized donations and a range of activities for tuberculosis patients and their families in the holy month of Ramadan. A similar campaign was organized last year. “Jordan First” in stopping tuberculosis: visit of Dr Jorge Sampaio and Portugese football legend Luis Figo to Jordan, April 2010
The
visit of the Global Stop TB
Ambassador, Anne Cataldi, to the
Islamic
Anne Cataldi, the Global Stop TB Ambassador, visited the Islamic Republic of Iran from 10 to 13 April, 2010, to discuss the sustaining and broadening of activities of the Stop TB Partnership Committee, the strengthening of intercountry cooperation, the undertaking of joint efforts to strengthen the capacity of the country to control multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and the need for the greater assistance of international organizations in managing TB cases among non-nationals in the country.
Anna Cataldi in Pakistan
Arriving in Islamabad, Anna went to the offices of the national TB programme and commended its team for its hard work in a complex security environment. She conveyed the same to the Minister of Health Makhdoon Shahbudin, who was joined by the Secretary and Director General of Health of the country. Operational Research in Tropical and other Communicable Disease, SGS final report summaries 2007-2008
World TB Day 2010
Sudan National Partnership Council for Tuberculosis Control in 2010
The meeting agenda covered many items, including the planned activities of World TB Day and endorsement in 2010 for the Partnership and official registration of the National Partnership Council in the Human Aid Commission of the Government of Sudan. The Council asked the TB Ambassador (Professor Awad I Awad) to brief Sudan’s First Lady, Mrs Fatima Khalid, about the current situation of TB in the country, to seek her approval on the plan for 2010 and on the preparation of activities for World TB Day. The Partnership operates under the auspices of the First Lady. All participants showed their willingness to support the national TB programme and TB patients in order to achieve their goals.
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Jordan,
Amman, 30 April 2010—“Jordan
has shown that beating
tuberculosis is possible and
multidrug-resistant
tuberculosis can be treated
through the power and
commitment of public and
private partnership”. The
speakers of a press
conference congratulated the
Government of Jordan on the
success led by the former
Portuguese President,
current United Nations
Secretary-General's Special
Envoy to Stop Tuberculosis
and an activist in promoting
cross-cultural relations, Dr
Jorge Sampaio, Luis Figo,
the Goodwill Ambassador
Against Tuberculosis and
football player, Dr Hussein
A. Gezairy, WHO Regional
Director for the Eastern
Mediterranean and the
Minister of Health of Jordan
Dr Nayef Al Fayez. Dr Khaled
Abu Rumman, the manager of
the national tuberculosis
control programme in Jordan,
also addressed the press
conference.
Republic of Iran, 
Islamabad
(8 April)
World TB Day is celebrated every
year on 24 March. Last year, more
than 1.8 million young people from
across the Region marched together
on World TB Day under the banner of
the Million Youth March.
This year, “innovation to
accelerate action” is the theme of
World TB Day. Around the Region,
countries will be marking the Day in
line with the global theme of
innovation, with music, under the
slogan "Together, singing the song
of Stop TB”. The campaign,
facilitated by the Regional Office
and supported by the Eastern
Mediterranean Partnership to Stop
TB, is intended to be different from
the seminars and conferences that
often mark the event, and countries
will be invited to write their own
songs to celebrate the Day. Music
can elicit commitment to defeat
tuberculosis in a way that no other
medium or activity can, and can
reach out to people who have never
yet been involved to support the
efforts to stop TB. 
Sudan’s
National Partnership Council for TB
control organized its first meeting
in Khartoum on 4 January 2010 to
discuss the current situation of TB
in the country and the activities of
the Council. 
