An informal advocacy alliance that shares a commitment to raising awareness of tuberculosis and to increasing the political will to control the disease through the WHO Europe Region and worldwide.
TB EUROPE COALITION NEWSFLASH
09/12/2014
The TBEC newsletter brings you news items, information about upcoming events and stories from the region every month. We hope that you will find this newsletter interesting, and we hope that it will inspire you to share stories from your own work.
To become a member of the TB Europe Coalition or to share your work, please email Fanny Voitzwinkler at fvoitzwinkler@ghadvocates.org.
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Ukraine's capital is facing an explosive TB epidemic
Kiev may be facing an unprecedented tuberculosis crisis. This is according to Larissa Kanarovskaya, the Head of the Kiev City Union of health workers. On December 1, 2014, at a press conference, she announced that on the average, 100 people die every day from tuberculosis in Ukraine’s capital. The situation, Mrs Kanarovskaya continued, is complicated by an acute shortage of doctors and nurses of TB profile, as well as a critical situation in Ukraine’s health care in general. The growing workload on health workers is accompanied by more and more TB cases being detected among physicians.
“Every day in Kiev 100 people die of TB, including 1 case with the active form. And five people in Kiev get infected with the disease daily,” – said L.Kanarovskaya. Read more on this story here.
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Former MDR-TB patient and TB advocate, Marina, meetings with the European Parliament
Between 18th and 19th November, TB Europe Coalition members, RESULTS UK and Global Health Advocates, had the exciting opportunity to welcome Marina to Brussels to brief decision-makers on the severity of the TB epidemic (TB) in the European Union (EU). Marina fought two years to defeat multidrug resistant TB (MDR-TB) and is now a great advocate on the issue. By bringing the perspective of MDR-TB patients, Marina highlighted the urgent need for action at regional level to fight TB and ensure the rights of TB patients.
Marina was able to meet with a range of Parliamentarians, including UK, Romanian, Spanish, and Croatian MEPs, who committed to use their voice and positions in the ENVI (Environment, Public Health and Food Safety) and DEVE (Development) Committees of the European Parliament to urge their colleagues and decision-makers in the EU institutions to, once and for all, take action on MDR-TB for what it is – a European cross-border health threat that requires a coordinated regional response. You can read more about the advocacy tour and more on Marina's story on her time with MDR-TB here.
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Civil Society Organisations highlight concerns and lessons learnt from the Global Fund New Funding Model and Middle Income Countries
In advance to the upcoming 32d Global Fund Board meeting this week the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network prepared an open letter highlighting concerns and lessons already learnt from the application of the new Global Fund approach to resource allocation in terms of the negative impact it is likely to have on harm reduction programming and funding in EECA in 2015 – 2017.
The letter highlights such important issues as:
- Consequences of new allocation methodology for MICs (middle-income countries)
- Targets of the GF Investment Guidance for EECA and the timeframe given to achieve them
- Transition from international to domestic funding
For more detail on the letter please click here.
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TB Europe Coalition meets TB stakeholders in Georgia
Between 3 and 7 November 2014, a delegation of the Tuberculosis Europe Coalition* (TBEC) visited Tbilisi, Georgia. TBEC representatives held discussions with key stakeholders and organised a two-day workshop to support ongoing efforts of civil society organisations working in the field of TB, which recently formed a national TB Coalition.
TBEC’s visit and the creation of a national TB coalition was extremely timely considering the number of ongoing activities and opportunities for TB care and control in the country. Among these, the drafting and presentation of a National TB Strategy and the Global Fund’s concept note for TB and HIV, which are due in 2015, will have a prominent role. While working on these key documents, TB actors in Georgia will have to thoroughly reflect on the long-term sustainability of their TB programme and prepare for the major changes expected in the coming years.
You can read more about the TB Europe Coalition visit to Georgia by clicking here. |
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