2013 kicks off with focus on Global Fund replenishment, community engagement and post-2015 targets

10 January 2013 - Geneva - In January and early February, the Stop TB Partnership and WHO Stop TB Department will kick off the New Year with meetings and discussions in Geneva whose outcome could have an influential role in stimulating scaled up efforts on tuberculosis (TB).

• A meeting on TB demand forecast for Global Fund replenishment, organized by the Global Fund Secretariat, the Stop TB Partnership Secretariat and the WHO Stop TB Department, will take place from 28 January to 1 February. The purpose of the meeting is to strengthen already existing country TB budgets and scale up plans in order to obtain an updated and more ambitious forecasted TB budget for 2013 through 2016.

• A Stop TB Partnership Community Task Force meeting will be held from 4-6 February. It will include a Global Drug Facility (GDF) "open house", with discussion on drug procurement and bottlenecks and brainstorming on the development of a process whereby communities can contribute to an early warning system for drug stock outs. Participants also will develop a roadmap and action plan for scaling up the Communities Task Force; and examine the role of communities in advocacy, with particular focus on the post-2015 goals.

• Post-2015 TB goals and targets will be the subject of a workshop organized by the WHO Stop TB Department and Stop TB Partnership Secretariat on 7-8 February. Technical partners, country representatives and advocates will brainstorm and reach consensus on the most relevant TB targets and goals for the post-2015 era.

The Stop TB Partnership Secretariat has produced a roadmap of key events relevant to TB and global health that will take place in 2013. Click here to link to the roadmap.

Source: Stop TB Partnership