WHO and USAID release guide to support countries in developing national action plans on public-private mix for TB prevention and care

World Health Organization USAID
Feb. 27, 2018, 7:57 p.m.

23 February, Geneva - The World Health Organization and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have released a new guide to help countries strategically and systematically scale-up the engagement of all care providers in TB prevention and care. The Guide to develop a national action plan on Public-Private Mix (PPM) – is a planning document designed to facilitate the integration of strong public-private mix (PPM) components into national TB strategic plans that are the basis for Global Fund proposals and national budgeting processes.

Over 4 million people with TB are missed each year by health systems and therefore do not get the care they need and deserve. A large proportion of these patients, especially in Asia, are diagnosed and managed in the private sector or unengaged public sector, but not notified to national health systems.

PPM efforts and systematic approaches to reach all provider types, have been introduced as part of WHO’s End TB Strategy, to reach these individuals as soon as possible, with quality-assured diagnosis and treatment. However, PPM efforts are often not prioritized systematically and not funded, to ensure they are taken to scale in the country’s TB response.

The PPM national action plan process provides an opportunity to engage multisectoral stakeholders, and raise awareness and commitment about the need to leverage the entire health system in order to reach public health goals in TB and beyond. The guide serves as an important tool to enable the scale up of well-prioritized and funded PPM approaches in countries.

The guide is targeted for use by national TB programmes, partners and consultants supporting countries in developing proposals or providing technical assistance in scaling up PPM approaches in the country. The process highlighted in the document has already been adopted and used in over ten countries, including Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Philippines, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. PPM action plans were developed in these countries by the national TB programme and key partners on the ground, with the support of a PPM consultant. Some of these plans have been incorporated into national strategic plans and Global Fund proposals already.


Source: WHO