Ending TB in South-East Asia: flagship priority and response transformation
File(s)
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Over the decades, the global tuberculosis (TB) response has evolved from sanatoria-based treatment to DOTS (Directly Observed Therapy Shortcourse) strategy and the more recent End TB Strategy. The WHO South-East Asia Region, which accounted for 45% of new TB patients and 50% of deaths globally in 2021, is pivotal to the global fight against TB. "Accelerate Efforts to End TB" by 2030 was adopted as a South-East Asia Regional Flagship Priority (RFP) in 2017. This article illustrates intensified and transformed approaches to address the disease burden following the adoption of RFP and new challenges that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. TB case notifications improved by 25% and treatment success rates improved by 6% between 2016 and 2019 due to interventions ranging from galvanising political commitments to empowering and engaging communities. Cumulative TB programme budget allocations in 2022 reached US$ 1.4 billion, about two and a half times the budget in 2016. An ambitious Regional Strategic Plan towards ending TB, 2021-2025, identifies priority interventions that will need investments of up to US$ 3 billion a year to fully implement them. Moving forward, countries in the Region need to leverage RFP and take up intensified, people-centred, holistic interventions for prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care of TB with commensurate investments and cross-ministerial and multi-sectoral coordination.
Date Issued
2023-11-01
Date Acceptance
2023-10-05
Citation
Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia, 2023, 18
ISSN
2772-3682
Journal / Book Title
Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia
Volume
18
Copyright Statement
© 2023 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY IGO license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/).
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38028166
PII: S2772-3682(23)00161-0
Subjects
Flagship
South-East Asia
Tuberculosis
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Article Number
ARTN 100301
Date Publish Online
2023-10-29