WHO launches Global Action Framework for TB Research and creates new team on TB research

November 17, 2015 - WHO today launched a new Global Action Framework for TB Research to foster high-quality national and global TB research needed to end the TB epidemic. To facilitate the implementation of this new framework and to support the promotion of TB research both at global and country levels, a new research team has been set up in the WHO Global TB Programme.

There has been important progress in the fight against TB with the 2014 death rate nearly half that of 1990. Effective diagnosis and treatment saved 43 million lives between 2000 and 2015. However, TB now ranks alongside HIV/AIDS as a top infectious killer, claiming 1.5 million lives every year (including 0.4 million among people living with HIV) and causing suffering for millions more.
 
The WHO End TB Strategy, adopted by all WHO Member States in 2014, aims to reduce TB incidence by 80% and TB deaths by 90%, as well as achieve 100% protection against catastrophic costs for TB-affected households. Intensified research and innovation is one of the three pillars of the new Strategy.
 
“Research is critical to break the trajectory of the epidemic and reach the global End TB targets. Without research we will not have the necessary tools to drive down deaths and suffering as targeted by the End TB Strategy”, said Dr Mario Raviglione, Director of the WHO Global TB Programme. “Countries with the biggest burdens of disease must be leaders in driving more energy and investment in research.”
 
The Global Action Framework for TB Research outlines steps and benchmarks for key stakeholders at global and national levels to advance research, particularly in the countries carrying the greatest burdens of disease. The steps include: development of national plans for TB research based on mapping of existing efforts; consensus on top priorities; capacity-building; and activating domestic research funding mechanisms complementing other resources. It is expected that every country can pursue the principles outlined in the Framework. At global level the framework calls for: enhanced mobilization of public and private institutions to become involved in TB research and research funding; novel ways of mobilizing resources; and expanded effective interaction through the establishment of international networks of researchers and institutions. The framework was developed based on the recommendations of a global consultation on research to eliminate TB, held in Stockholm in late 2014, and sponsored by WHO, the Swedish Government and the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.
 
“To accelerate progress against TB, research must be prioritized and reinvigorated. The discovery and development of new and more efficient tools and delivery strategies will be essential to achieve immediate and lasting gains against the epidemic,“ said Dr Gilla Kaplan, Director of the TB program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is supporting WHO’s efforts to help roll-out the Framework and provide assistance to countries.
 
To facilitate the implementation of the framework, the WHO Global TB Programme has created a new team in the Director’s office. In collaboration with partner research agencies, the team will provide support to high TB burden countries to stimulate, develop and strengthen activities on TB research and roll-out of new tools. It will promote and catalyse TB research and innovation through facilitated discussions on research priorities, and contribute to the development of international networks for research and capacity building.

This new “Research for TB Elimination” team will be led by Dr Christian Lienhardt, Senior Research Adviser in the Global TB Programme. The new workstream has emerged out of the work successfully undertaken over the last two years within the Policy, Strategy and Innovation Unit at the Global TB Programme. All units in the Programme will work closely with this new team to promote and facilitate relevant research.  

“With this move, WHO strongly reaffirms its commitment to promote research in collaboration with all key stakeholders, for the benefit of all people affected by TB worldwide,” said Dr Christian Lienhardt.

Download:

• Global Action Framework for TB Research

• Research for TB Elimination team