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Rationale
Control of
tuberculosis requires a
multidisciplinary approach. The scale-up
of tuberculosis control activities
cannot be achieved solely by national
tuberculosis programmes, the traditional
player in tuberculosis control. National
tuberculosis partnerships need to be
extended to nongovernmental sectors and
civil society and strengthened to
complement and contribute to existing
coordination mechanisms. National
efforts should be coordinated with and
supplement WHO’s renewed commitment to
primary health care and community
participation.
The Eastern
Mediterranean Partnership to Stop TB
will support and strengthen national
efforts. The preparatory committee for
the establishing the partnership was
formulated at the Regional Office in
2006. In its first meeting in January
2007, the committee emphasized that the
establishment of regional partnerships
will strengthen tuberculosis control
through engaging partners and
communities at the national and local
levels.
There is strong unity
among countries of the Region. The
Partnership provides an opportunity to
capitalize on this unity and engage the
influential stakeholders in the Region
who are not yet involved in efforts to
Stop TB.
Challenges and
opportunities
The preparatory
committee identified a number of key
issues that need to be addressed through
the regional partnership.
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Tuberculosis is not regarded as a
high priority in comparison with
other issues in the health sector,
and is not currently recognized as a
priority among many stakeholder
groups including communities,
nongovernmental organizations,
donors, professional associations,
academia, mass media and
policy-makers.
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Conducting advocacy among
stakeholders in the Region will
reinforce the importance of efforts
to Stop TB and encourage support for
implementation of the Stop TB
strategy.
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Weaknesses in health systems
represent obstacles to the full
implementation of the Stop TB
strategy. These health system
weaknesses extend to health care
providers outside the national
tuberculosis programme.
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Tuberculosis care for all requires
mechanisms for partnership,
specifically with the private
sector, the community and
organizations working in complex
emergencies and with mobile
populations—regional partners will
coordinate Stop TB action in those
areas.
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Resource constraints, including
human and financial, are limiting
the capacity of countries to
implement the Stop TB strategy.
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Region-wide advocacy and resource
mobilization will tap influential
stakeholders for funding, technical
assistance and human resources, all
of which will be directed towards
expanding country implementation of
the Stop TB strategy.
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National plans are often limited to
the national health programmes, and
do not include other key
stakeholders.
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Inviting partners to join Stop TB
will enhance resources for national
partnerships and encourage national
tuberculosis programmes to engage
communities, nongovernmental
organizations and the private
sector.
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There
is risk of complacency among
national tuberculosis programmes
following a period of rapid DOTS
expansion.
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Added
resources brought in through
stakeholders will create demand for
country-level action and push
national progress.
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