March 24, 2010 - World TB Day

We're on the move

The year 2010 marks the halfway point for the Global Plan to Stop TB (2006-2015). It is clearer than ever that we must scale up efforts and continue to seek new and innovative ways to stop TB if we are to achieve our targets. We have made considerable progress. But the evidence points to an urgent need to do more, do it better and do it faster.

The theme of Innovation speaks to the need for a new way forward. The slogan On the move against tuberculosis reflects this theme through a simple, flexible and easily translatable phrase. This year's campaign will focus on individuals around the world who have found new ways to stop TB and can serve as an inspiration to others. The idea is to recognize people who have introduced a variety of innovations in a variety of settings.

The Stop TB Partnership is a network of more than 900 international and national public and private sector organizations and individuals aiming to eliminate tuberculosis (TB) as a public health problem. Located in the World Health Organization in Geneva, it was established in 2001 to foster greater collaboration among international agencies, donors, and governments of endemic countries to meet global TB control targets. A 2008 evaluation by McKinsey & Company concluded that the Partnership has contributed significantly to global efforts to control TB. This review confirms the widely held view that Stop TB is the one of the best performing global partnerships in the health sector, based on an analysis of its relevance, efficacy, efficiency, governance, and management. Yet the sustainability of its achievements will depend not only on the Partnership itself but also on its ability to successfully confront new challenges posed by HIV and drug resistance, on the complementary disease-control activities of its donor partners, and on the capacity of high-burden countries to sustain TB control. The World Bank has been a major institutional player in Stop TB at both the global and country levels. But the protracted amount of time the Bank has taken to enable its client countries to procure drugs with World Bank funds through the Global Drug Facility has reflected negatively on its institutional reputation.

American Air & Water, Inc. joined the Stop TB Partnership in 2007.

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