Tuberculosis (TB) is the world’s leading infectious killer’ and kills 1.3 million people a year (2022). The latest diagnostic tests and new medicines can help prevent and cure TB. Yet people are still dying from a disease that's been curable for decades.
While the world remobilizes to fight TB in the post-pandemic era, the timely updating of TB response policies stands as a prerequisite to attaining the health related Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) and the 2027 UNHLM TB targets. This holds utmost significance, especially following the recent Tuberculosis UN High-Level Meeting on September 22nd. As we progress toward realizing the objectives set during the UN High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis and the SDGs, ensuring the harmonization of national policies with the latest international TB guidelines becomes vitally important.
Step Up for TB (SUFT) is a project that has been running for almost 10 years now. The continuous and consistent nature of this process underscores the value of regular policy tracking, a service that the SUFT project is providing. SUFT 2023 summarizes the findings of the 6th survey of national TB policies in the Step Up for TB series. This edition presents data on 20 countries, assessing the extent to which national policies align with international best practices based on World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and the latest scientific research related to TB and TB infection diagnosis, treatment, and care. SUFT is captured through country factsheets, dynamically generated trend lines, and an interactive map. It encompasses a comprehensive spectrum of policy indicators spanning diagnostics, treatment and care, and prevention, thereby offering a holistic perspective. Furthermore, the SUFT electronic tool (suft.stoptb.org) presents a Stop TB Partnership perspective and let the audience to track country and regional indicators over specific timeframes. In 2023 SUFT has meticulously scrutinized the policy landscape of 20 high TB burden countries.
Results
The results show that not all surveyed countries are stepping up to update their national policies following the issuance of new WHO guidelines on TB diagnostics, treatment, and care. Despite advancements in endorsing internationally recognized guidelines and best practices, the 20 countries surveyed will still face challenges in getting closer to the UNHLM on TB 2023 targets. Notably, while diagnostic policies show promising uptake, TB treatment policies, particularly in the context of Childhood TB, are not as robustly embraced. Results can be accessed in the SUFT 2023 report Executive summary (see below).
Our targets
The Stop TB Partnership, and the global TB community call on all countries to update, implement, and finance fully their TB policies aligning them with international guidelines promptly to fulfill the commitments made in advancing the End TB Strategy 2030. Join our project by using the materials in this toolkit to engage with political leaders to step up to achieve this goal by:
Tweets templates
Template Letter to Send to Political Leaders
Dear [___________], As the world remobilizes to fight Tuberculosis (TB) in post-pandemic era, I am writing to ask for your help in fostering a relevant plan of keeping [country] TB response tuned to the new international recommendations that occurs consistently. As you may know, TB is the world’s deadliest infectious disease. Although TB is preventable and curable, 1.6 million people still die from it every year, including [insert your country figures here]. The good news is that there are innovations that can help reduce TB-related sickness and death and prevent TB from spreading. There are molecular tests that can diagnose TB accurately and rapidly, ultra-portable X-rays devices that trigger TB screenings, new medicines for TB infection treatment, and the latest TB drugs can vastly improve active TB treatment, especially for drug-resistant forms of TB. However, we continue to miss opportunities to improve TB testing, treatment, and care by using outdated TB policies, practices, and tools. Step Up for TB 2023, a report by the Stop TB Partnership and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), surveyed 20 countries and found that many have yet to bring their TB policies and practices up to date. The report calls on countries to update their TB policies and practices so that they are in line with international standards, as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). This is our best chance to reduce TB-related sickness, death, and the spread of TB. In your capacity as a [Minister of Health / National TB Programme Manager / Member of Parliament], I kindly urge you to facilitate the updating and implementation of national TB policies to bring them in line with key international TB policies and recommendations, as identified in Step Up for TB 2023. In particular, [state the policies that are out of date in your country] I also encourage you to share updates on your progress with relevant stakeholders, including WHO, civil society, and the Stop TB Partnership. No one should die of TB because they weren’t able to access the latest recommended tests and treatments. I would welcome the opportunity to speak with you further about how we can work together to make TB curable for everyone and reduce the terrible toll of this deadly disease. Yours Sincerely, [YOUR NAME]
Key ressources
SUFT key policies checklist and country factsheets: the 20 countries’ 2023 progress in adopting key policies to reach the UN High-Level Meeting on TB targets
We would love to hear from you. Update us on your progress or let us know how we can support your advocacy efforts. Contact us at stepupfortb@stoptb.org