The Union convenes TREAT TB partners to review results of new research
The Union recently brought research partners together in Washington, DC to share results from five years of TB research that began in 2009. Carried out through the TREAT TB initiative supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), researchers worked with the goal of improving international standards and practices for diagnosing and treating TB in order to better serve the needs of people affected by the disease.
Collectively, TREAT TB’s research partners have published 27 peer-reviewed studies with another seven studies forthcoming.
TREAT TB is unique in its approach to research. Through TREAT TB, The Union has built a global partnership of researchers from different sectors, involving private research universities and public institutions, including ministries of health. Together, the individual studies that researchers carry out add up to a compelling new body of research that will inform the approach to diagnosing and treating TB around the world.
TREAT TB’s four objectives are to:
- Strengthen the evidence base for optimising TB diagnosis
- Conduct clinical trials and operational research to improve patient management for multidrug-resistant TB, TB-HIV co-infection and other priority areas
- Identify operational barriers that are preventing health care programmes from optimising their performance
- Assist USAID and its local partners within countries to address priority research needs
“A day like today is important for a project like TREAT TB, that’s been going on for a fair number of years, to really bring together the participants who developed the research—and, as we heard today, research that ranges from field evaluations for diagnostic tools right to a clinical trial of a shortened regimen for MDR-TB,” said I.D. Rusen, Project Director for the Initiative. “And when we see the outputs that this project has been able to provide in this initial five-year period, I think it’s very impressive. It’s research outputs that have had direct relevance to the programmes that they came from, and we hope to see more of those research outputs in the coming years."
The Union has compiled TREAT TB’s study highlights and profiles of key projects, which you can read about here.
Source: The Union
