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TB Europe Coalition bi-weekly newsletter bringing you news, information about upcoming events and stories from the region!
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
08/07/2014

 
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.
WHO develops an Action Framework for TB elimination in low-incidence countries 
Last week, more than 30 low-incidence countries gathered in Rome, together with experts from the WHO, European Respiratory Society (ERS) and various other organisations, inlcuding TBEC. Those gathered aimed to adapt the recently adopted global strategy and targets for TB prevention, care and control after 2015 to the specific context and challenges of low incidence countries. The TB epidemiology in these countries characterised by high concentration among vulnerable groups. 

Those attending had the opportunity to feed into a draf Action Framework that seeks to achieve pre-elimination (10 TB cases per 1 million) by 2035 and elimination (1 per 1 million) by 2050 in low-incidence countries. The plan will be finalised and approved in September 2014, after which political commitment will be required to ensure success. Meaningful involvement of civil society and key affected groups is also pivotal. You can read a more detailed account of the meeting here
Voices in the Fight: Shamsiya
Today we sharing another voice in the fight against TB. This post was written by our partners in Tajikistan and tells the story of Shamsiya and her family experience with TB in the country. Over the course of two decades Shamsiya has watched nine of her family members succumb to TB. Today, Shamsiya and her father are the only members still alive out of a large family who were once living happily. This is an abridged version of her story. You can read the full transcript here. 

It was in 1994 that Shamsiya's family first encountered TB. It was in this year that her eldest sister began vommitting blood. One and half months later her sister had unexpectedly died. Between 2006 and 2014, Shamsiya's mother and remaining seven siblings all passed away as a direct result of TB. One of these siblings was diagnosed with MDR-TB but the treatment caused swelling of the liver and so it could not continue. 

You can hear the heartbreak that comes from losing nine family members in Shamsiya's voice. She is now looking after her father who also has TB. Shamsiya's tragic storyshould give us pause to think of how to mobilise the poltical and financial will to stop the prevalence of TB in our societies. 
For Patients Waiting for XDR-TB Treatment in Romania, Someday Never Comes 
In March 2014, Jonathan Stillo, a member of TB Europe Coalition's Steering Committee, participated in the joint WHO and ECDC National TB Programme Review in Romania. In light of his visit, Jonathan wrote a blog for the TB Europe Coalition website which you can read here. Below are some extracts from his blog which is well worth a read. 

Right now, 30,000 Romanians have various forms of TB. This is by far the largest number in the European Union (EU), accounting for about 25% of all cases in member states. Over the past ten years, the overall TB incidence in Romania has dropped steadily. However, even after this reduction, Romania’s TB incidence and prevalence eclipse all other EU countries. The Romanian incidence rate is presently more than five times the EU average and about twenty times higher than low incidence countries such as Germany. Romania also has the largest number of drug resistant TB cases in the EU. About 1,500 people are living now with Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) or Extensively Drug Resistant (XDR) TB, but only about 20% of these patients are able to receive treatment that meets international standards through the country’s Global Fund grant. This has resulted in a national MDR-TB treatment success rate of 20% which is among the lowest recorded in the world, and actually similar to the historical “spontaneous cure rates” of patients who receive no medication at all.

The international community are extremely concerned about TB in Romania. Romania is presently writing a new TB strategy and its Global Fund concept note. It is my hope that what emerges will be a bold, comprehensive, and sustainable plan. High-level commitment and responsibility for the problem are necessary and must come fromwithin, not from outside of Romania. Now is the time for the Romanian government to take aggressive action by supporting the Romanian Ministry of Health and National TB Program.  This action by the Romanian government could single-handedly bring the entire European Union closer to TB elimination. It should be noted that while TB is a problem requiring political commitment, it is not an issue to be politicized. There are individual supporters of TB control in many parties, but none has yet to turn this support into tangible funding from the Ministry of Finance necessary to address the large funding gap. You can read the remainder of Jonathan's blog here.
TB in Romania: mapping the needs 
Between February and March 2014, the Romanian Angel Appeal and the Association for MDR-TB Patients Support conducted a survey among Romanian TB and MDR-TB patients, their families and specifialists working in the field, in order to pinpoint the patients' social and pshycological needs. The survey report was published in June and it shows the main needs as reported by patients or identified by the professionals who work with them.

The survey highlighted that the Romanian TB patient is more liekly male, between 36 and 45 years old, equally living in the urban or rural areas, unemployed, without imprisonment record and without dependent children. The average monthly income is €125. 

Importantly, the date suggests that for the successful tracking of TB patients, one must address the risks that the patient is exposed to even before contracting the disease. As for diagnosis, the most pressing need is to have a rapid result and reduce uncertainty. Patients have difficulty in coping with delayed and inaccurated diagnoses. During therapy, the patients must have support in order to overcome medicinal side effects. Their quality of life should also be considered after recovery as well as during treatment, for example through reintegration into the labour market. The full report can be found here.
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The TB Europe Coalition Secretariat
Coalition TB Europe,
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