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The World Health Organization (WHO) has released guidance on conducting reviews of tuberculosis (TB) programmes. This guidance aims to assist countries in planning and conducting comprehensive and inclusive programme reviews, to strengthen the multisectoral response to TB. This document complements the WHO Guidance for national strategic planning for tuberculosis, published in 2022, and builds on lessons learned and the experience of various stakeholders in conducting reviews of TB programmes.
Programme reviews are an integral part of managing TB programmes and provide a structured way to assess programme performance as a basis for progressive quality improvement, strengthened accountability, and to inform development or updating of national strategic plan.
“In a rapidly changing global health context, it is important to strengthen strategic planning processes to effectively respond to emerging challenges,” said Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director of WHO’s Global TB Programme. “By providing guidance to countries in their efforts to end TB, programme reviews will help to lay the foundation for strategic plans that can effectively steer the TB response towards the End TB targets and the goal of universal health coverage”.
Web annexes A and B comprise a set of generic tools that support the programme review process which includes checklists, templates and key review questions.
Web annex C of the guidance is an updated implementation guide and terms of reference for conducing TB epidemiological reviews and assessments of TB surveillance and vital registration systems. This web annex is predominantly aimed at individuals who are involved in the organization and implementation (as leaders or participants) TB epidemiological reviews, including external consultant epidemiologists, NTP, and staff from WHO country and regional offices; it may also be useful for funders and technical partners – providing an overview of how epidemiological reviews are carried out, particularly for the development of data-driven strategic plans.
This guidance will play a crucial role in maintaining the quality of review mechanisms aimed at monitoring progress towards achieving the targets set forth in the End TB Strategy and the political declaration of the 2023 United Nations High-Level Meeting on the Fight Against TB. Importantly the guidance will contribute to advocating for and securing resources and ensuring they are optimally used through strategic planning and implementation. The 2023 UN High-Level Meeting resolution on TB emphasized the imperative for heads of state and government to bolster review mechanisms, underscoring the urgency and importance of effective monitoring and evaluation strategies in the global fight against TB.
