The workshop, the first to be organized since the conflict began in Libya, focused on diagnosis, drug management, reporting, and patient tracking11 November 2018 – The World Health Organization (WHO) held a comprehensive training workshop on tuberculosis (TB) case management in Libya between 5 and 10 November 2018. The workshop, held in Tunis and the first to be organized since the conflict began in Libya, focused on diagnosis, drug management, reporting, and patient tracking. The workshop was attended by 25 trainees from all the National Center for Disease Control’s TB centres in Libya under the umbrella of the National TB Programme. The workshop was facilitated by the manager of Tunisia’s National TB Programme, along with senior experts in the diagnosis, case management and treatment of TB.

“The increased number of suspected and confirmed cases of multidrug-resistant TB continues to be a major issue in the overcrowded settlements for internally displaced people and detention centres in a number of districts and municipalities in Libya. The capacity of TB centres to cope with the current caseload is limited, while treatment options are also limited due to the shortage of first- and second-line drugs. This capacity-building training workshop is part of the intensified efforts of the WHO Representative's office in Libya to strengthen the health system in Libya, restore it to full operational capability and enhance the capacity of TB centres,” said Syed Jaffar Hussain, WHO Representative and Head of Mission in Libya.

Training techniques included a field visit to the main hospital that provides specialized TB treatment in Tunis.

“We have been waiting for this opportunity for the last two years and are really grateful to the WHO Representative's office in Libya and the Tunisian National TB Programme for hosting us in Tunis. The knowledge and skills gained from this training workshop will be applied in all TB centres across Libya,” said Dr Mohamed Furjani, Director of the Libyan National TB Programme.

WHO is leading the health sector in Libya, and the management of TB along with other infectious diseases is one of the six pillars of the new health sector strategy. Over the past few months, WHO has been providing the Libyan National TB Programme with essential medicines and laboratory equipment.