At the launch of the National Stop TB Partnership: from left to right: H.E Dr Majeed Hamad Amin, Minister of Health of Iraq, H.E Mrs Hero Ibrahim Ahmed, First Lady of Iraq, H.E Dr Rekawt Hama Rasheed, Minister of Health of the Kurdistan Regional Government, and Dr Syed Jaffar Hussain, WHO Representative27 June 2012 – “Tuberculosis (TB) causes loss of human life and poses a threat to the development process in Iraq. It is a curable disease from which no one in Iraq should die. To ensure this, a range of partners from the public and private sector, civil society and the media, have come together to mobilize capacity, driven by their determination to stop the spread of TB,” stated H.E. Mrs Hero Ibrahim Ahmed, the First Lady of Iraq and the WHO Patron for TB, in her welcoming remarks during the launch of the Iraq National Stop TB Partnership in Sulaimaniyah, Iraq.

The event was attended by high-level representatives of the Government, civil society leaders, representatives of public and private health sectors and UN agencies, including WHO and the United Nations Development Programme.

H.E. Mrs Hero Ibrahim Ahmed said that establishment of the National Stop TB Partnership was based on close collaboration between partners in implementing innovative, unconventional ways to fight TB at the national level. She praised the efforts of ministries of health and WHO in implementing the global Stop TB Strategy, which ensures universal access to treatment and care services for all TB patients.

In his speech, H.E. the Minister of Health of Iraq, Dr Majeed Hamad Amin, said, “The Iraq National Stop TB Partnership will provide a platform for the launch of creative activities to reach as many persons affected by TB as possible. It aims to effectively stop the spread of TB in Iraq and achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.”

H.E. the Minister of Health of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Dr Rekawt Hama Rasheed, emphasized that in line with the Partnership’s focus for 2012, efforts would be intensified to ensure treatment and care for multidrug resistant TB (MDR-TB) patients. “The Ministry of Health of the Kurdistan Regional Government will direct its attention towards making the newly-rehabilitated National MDR-TB Hospital in Sulaimaniyah fully functional as soon as possible to receive its first patients". H.E. added that, “The new hospital, with a capacity of 30 beds, will provide specialized treatment and medical services to MDR-TB patients”.

In 2011, the national TB control programme increased TB case detection rates and maintained high treatment success and cure rates. “The fight against TB cannot be the sole responsibility of only one entity,” said Dr Syed Jaffar Hussain, WHO Representative for Iraq. It is the collective responsibility of the nation”. He added thatA MDR-TB patient attending the launch of the Partnership to ensure that efforts are intensified to ensure treatment and care for all TB patients, "Poverty, nutrition, housing, education, labour conditions and the environment are main factors contributing to the spread of this disease." Keeping the National Stop TB Partnership dynamic, creative and interactive, will unify the actions of all those people who believe that TB can be eliminated in our lifetime.

The Partnership was initiated by the national TB control programme, with the technical support of WHO and financial support of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. On the day of its launch, the Partnership included more than 20 members, including government institutions, private health sector, nongovernmental organizations, media and persons living with the disease.

Global Stop TB Partnership

Global efforts are being conducted around the world to fight tuberculosis, which still constitutes a major public health threat in many countries. The most prominent of these efforts are being conducted by the Global Stop TB Partnership, a unique international body with the power to align actors all over the world in the fight against TB. It comprises about 1000 partners worldwide. These partners include international and technical organizations, government programmes, research and funding agencies, foundations, nongovernmental organizations, civil society and community groups and the private sector. Its vision is one of a world free of TB. It aims to ensure that every TB patient has access to effective diagnosis, treatment and cure; transmission of TB is stopped; the inequitable social and economic toll of TB is reduced; and new preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic tools and strategies are developed and implemented to stop TB.

The Global Stop TB Partnership is translated into national initiatives. The Initiative represents an innovative, voluntary alliance between its members, who commit to working collaboratively towards TB prevention, care and control. All partners contribute from their core competencies, share risks and responsibilities and benefit by achieving their own, each others' and the overall goal. National Stop TB partnerships work with national TB control programmes towards achieving the targets of the Global Plan to Stop TB.

Press Release in English  108.21 Kb | Arabic 168.00 Kb

WHO Iraq National STOP TB Partnership brochure 783.61 Kb

You can visit the STOP TB Partnership website at: Global Stop TB Partnership

For more information, please contact:

Dr. Khals Qader, Head of Media Unit - Ministry Of Health in KRG, Iraq. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Ms. Ruba Hikmat, Health Promotion Officer- World Health Organization, Iraq , Tel. +962 795096066, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Dr. Sevil Huseynova , Medical Officer- World Health Organization, Iraq,  Huseynovas@ irq.emro.who.int