A WHO/Green Light Committee mission visited Belarus on 1–5 December 2014, to monitor the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and review a pilot financing project.

The report outlines the results of the joint ECDC and WHO review of the Bulgarian National Tuberculosis Control Programme. The programme of the review included visits to national institutions involved in tuberculosis prevention and control, primary healthcare facilities, regional hospitals including laboratories, the hospital for treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, a prison hospital, regional health inspectorates, and non-governmental organisations. The team was supported by national experts.

The WHO Regional Office TB and M/XDR-TB Control Programme and the Country Office in Ukraine just published a correspondence article in The Lancet. The article, entitled “Conflict and drug-resistant tuberculosis in Ukraine”, highlights the critical health needs with a focus on the TB and MDR-TB situation in the country as a result of the ongoing conflict.

WHO/Europe will strengthen its partnership with Romania to improve the quality and delivery of tuberculosis (TB) services, turn the tide against drug-resistant TB, and accelerate the implementation of structural health system reforms in the country. These were the main themes of a high-level visit to Romania on 13–14 October 2014 by Dr Hans Kluge, Director, Division of Health Systems and Public Health and Special Representative of the Regional Director to prevent and combat multidrug- and extensively drug-resistant (M/XDR) TB, Dr Marc Sprenger, Director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), and Mr Nicolas Cantau, Regional Manager of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.

3 October 2014, Copenhagen, Denmark - The TB and M/XDR-TB Control Programme (TBM) held the first meeting of the Advisory Committee on Friday, 3 October, at the Regional Office in Copenhagen, Denmark, to discuss the new TB Action Plan for the WHO European Region 2016–2020. The Committee includes representatives from high- and low-TB-incidence countries, patient representatives and key partner organizations, such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) and WHO Headquarters.

The role of surgery in the treatment of pulmonary TB and multidrug- and extensively drug-resistant TB

WHO is expanding its health response in Ukraine to support the health needs of those affected in conflict areas and internally displaced by the ongoing fighting in the Donbas region (Donetsk and Luhansk) of eastern Ukraine. On World Humanitarian Day, WHO calls on the international community to pledge US$ 14 million to safeguard the health of an increasingly vulnerable population.

The report of the high-level meeting organized to commemorate World Tuberculosis Day 2014 is now published.

The newly-appointed WHO Collaborating Centre on Prevention and Control of Tuberculosis in Prisons located in  Azerbaijan, is organizing a training course for policy makers and health providers involved in planning and implementation of tuberculosis services in penal institutions of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The course will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan on 22 - 26 September 2014. Only 15 participants can be accepted. Applications should be sent by 1 August 2014 through the link below.

The notification rate of tuberculosis cases in Kosovo (in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 [1999]) is among the highest in south-east Europe. WHO was asked to organize a review of the Kosovo Tuberculosis Programme, which took place from 22 to 26 April 2013.