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1. Stop Tuberculosis - web site of the STOP TB Initiative - a global partnership for global action to stop TB. Extensive set of information on programmes, news, latest updates, events, activities, liniks, facts, treatment, impact, etc.:
http://www.stoptb.org/

Contact Heidi Larson mailto:larsonh@who.ch

2. TB.Net - This is a resource centre for information about tuberculo-sis - about the disease itself, and also about training programmes, conferences, computer software, organisations, databases - "anything that has anything to do with TB is here!". Recently hosted and covered the Conference on Power, Poverty and TB.
http://www.south-asia.com/ngo-tb/

http://www.south-asia.com/ngo-tb/tbnet2000.htm

- for their global conference

3. France Grants Burkina 1.37 Billion CFA Francs For Medicare - Burkina Faso - France has recently donated 1.37 Billion CFA Francs to strengthen Burkina Faso's health care and hospital facilities. Of this, approximately 700 million francs will help to improve management of TB and HIV-infected patients. Taken From: Panafrican News Agency - December 29, 1999

4. Tuberculosis Control in Areas of High HIV/AIDS Prevalence - Zambia - Workshops and conferences facilitated sharing and action research among policy makers and health care providers into treating TB in areas of high TB/HIV prevalence. The objectives were to develop capacity for action research in support of urban TB control; develop and evaluate interventions, through action research, and also to assess and document the pros and cons of different methodologies used.

Contact: P. Godfrey-Faussett

mailto:peter.godfrey-faussett@lshtm.ac.uk

5. TB in Developing Countries - Namibia/Zambia/South Africa - Started in 1996, this multi-sectoral project consisted of two regional components supporting the Namibian and Zambian national TB control program and the Southern African Tuberculosis Initiative (SATCI). A monitoring system to measure the project progress regarding effective TB-case management at the district, regional and national levels was established in the first year. The project was fully integrated into the structures of the national health system and the NTCP through training, capacity building, supervising and co-operation.

Contact: Andrea Knigge

mailto:andrea.knigge@gtz.de

6. National TB Programme - Guinea - Since 1988, Medicins Sans Frontiers has supported the national programme to combat tuberculosis (TB) by supplying medicine and laboratory materials to health structures throughout the whole country and 33 anti-tuberculosis centres in 33 prefectures.

Contact: Dr. James Orbinski

Tel:+ 32-2-280-1881

7. Ministerial Conference - Amsterdam 22-14 March - seeks to engage ministers of health, finance and development planning, along with top civil servants, from twenty of the highest burden countries in the world. High-level delegations from donors and technical health agencies are also participating in the discussions. The Conference will call for concerted global action to accelerate equitable access to TB treatment and prevent the further spread of TB and Multi-Drug Resistant TB through mobilizing all relevant sectors, both public and private.

Contact Heidi Larson

mailto:larsonh@who.ch

http://www.stoptb.org/conference/index.html

8. Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) - India - Funded by the British government, improved outreach services will ensure that people with TB complete their courses of medication. In a coordinated approach to HIV and TB, the most vulnerable are protected with more knowledge and access to appropriate services.

Contact: DFID

Tel: +44-171-917-0950

9. TB Frontline - A three-part satellite course for nurses, outreach workers and supervisors, designed to help TB program staff meet the daily challenges of TB elimination and control. This course examines the 8 steps of a contact investigation, explains how patient confidentiality and patients' rights can be protected in health care settings, in the field, and during activities involving data collection and analysis. It also aims to summarize the process of surveillance and case management, describe how to establish a relationship with a patient, and working effectively with interpreters.

Contact: TB Frontline

mailto:tbfrontline@nationaltbcenter.edu

10. Tuberculosis Research Center - India - conducts randomized controlled clinical trials to evaluate principles of chemotherapy for both pulmonary and extra pulmonary forms of tuberculosis, and also has performed research studies in utilization of traditional birth attendants, student volunteers and literate youth volunteers. Contact: Director

mailto:director@trc-chennai.org

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http://www.comminit.com/email_forum.html

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11. TB National Program - Malawi - Decentralisation of Malawi's DOTS program, from the hospital to the local level, is the latest in a series of positive developments of this initiative. A high priority has always been placed on the prevention, control and treatment of TB in this small country making it a model for other developing countries.

12. MMWR Continuing Education Program - This interactive Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report informs the reader of recommendations and guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of TB among patients with HIV. The recommendations are meant to provide clinical practice and policy development related to appropriate management of patients with or at risk for HIV-related TB.

http://www2.cdc.gov/cep/cea.htm

13. STEP - Singapore - The Singapore TB Eradication Programme was launched by the Ministry of Health in 1997, and through improving treatment and research in conjunction with public education and patient surveillance in a Directly Observed Treatment (DOT) system, TB is hoped to be eliminated from Singapore.

Contact Jane Yap

mailto:satakat@pacific.net.sg

14. Women and HIV/AIDS Concerns - a focus on Thailand, Philippines, India and Nepal - This production of the United Nations focuses on the problems faced by women with respect to HIV/AIDS and TB, including the combination of the diseases, and gender-based stigma and treatment.

http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/hiv.htm

15. International Course on Planning and Management of Tropical Diseases Control Programmes - April 25 - June 23, 2000 Institute of Tropical Medicine/ Antwerp, Belgium Students will receive up-to-date training in problems / controversies pertaining to specific diseases as well as on the elements necessary for the formulation of integrated strategies. The main themes covered include: HIV/AIDS, Malaria, TB, other tropical diseases of public health importance, integrated strategies and final exercise.

http://www.south-asia.com/ngo-tb/training.htm

Contact Marianne Hilgert

mailto:mhilgert@itg.be

16. AIDS Action Online Issue No. 3, January - March, 1996 - This issue of AIDS Action focuses specifically on the issue of TB and HIV/AIDS addressing related issues such as: diagnosis, treatment, education and training, effective programmes to tackle the dual issue, current issues, and evaluations.

http://www.hain.org/issue30/30p1.html

17. Self-Study Modules on Tuberculosis - These training modules are accessible to anyone over the web, but are designed for public health workers. Offered by the CDC, it is a series of educational modules designed to provide basic information about tuberculosis in a self-study format. Each course has a separate set of modules, registration process, exam, and credits. You can also work through the modules without registering.

http://www.cdc.gov/phtn/tbmodules/intro.htm

18. Russia AIDS and TB - Russia - This World Bank project began in 1999, and aims to control the epidemics of tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and STD's in the Russian Federation. A three component strategy involving advocacy, training, education and treatment will help to achieve the objectives of reducing TB and HIV prevalence, improving access, quality and cost-effectiveness of TB, AIDS and STDs services.

Contact: Joana Godinho

19. Community Outreach Intervention Projects- USA - Established in 1986 as an AIDS prevention project targeting injection drug users, it has now expanded to cover TB transmission and HIV/AIDS, and serves some 45 Chicago metropolitan community areas with an array of public health interventions and research studies.

Contact: Wayne Wiebel,

mailto:drugs@uic.edu

20. World Bank Statement: "95 percent of the 20 million people ill with TB today living in the developing world, and effective tools available to combat the worsening epidemic, investing in TB control programs makes economic and development sense." World Bank Vice President for the South Asia region, Mieko Nishimizu at the Ministerial Conference

[see above]

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Thanks to Heidi Larson <larsonh@who.ch> of the STP TB group at WHO for her support in the development of this special Drum Beat

This Drum Beat edited by Warren Feek