Tuberculosis prevention and control (Resolution)

REPORT OF THE REGIONAL COMMITTEE 15 (d) blood safety policies; (e) care for AIDS·patients, including access to drugs for HIV and AIDS treatment; (f) appropriate policies to prevent drug-resistant HIV; (g) TBIHIV co-infection; (h) appropriate legislation, including that in support of the United Nations General Assembly Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and in relation to access to HIV / AIDS drugs; (4) to strengthen WHO's coordination with UNAIDS, its other cosponsors and partners and to increase mobilization of resources; (5) to continue to provide support to Member States for the preparation of high-quality proposals to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the implementation of approved projects; (6) to continue to report annually to the Regional Committee on the situation of STI and HIV/AIDS in the Region. Ninth meeting, 12 September 2003 WPRlRC54/SRl9 WPRlRC54.R6 TUBERCULOSIS PREVENTION AND CONTROL The Regional Committee, Noting that just over two years remain before the target date for the regional targets set by the Regional Committee of regionwide coverage by directly observed treatment, short-course (DOTS), an 85% cure rate and a 70% case detection rate; Recognizing that the most critical obstacle to reaching the 2005 targets in Member States with a high burden of tuberculosis (TB) is insufficient human resources, especially at central level; Concerned that the current case detection rate of 41 % of estimated new smear-positive cases is still far below the regional target of 70%; Recognizing that implementation of DOTS is associated with an increase in the case detection rate; Further recognizing the need to improve the quality of laboratory services, increase community awareness of TB, and strengthen public private cooperation, in order to improve case detection; Acknowledging that national programme reviews by ministries of health and involving all partners will facilitate the monitoring of progress towards the 2005 goals; 16 REGIONAL COMMITTEE: FIFTY-FOURTH SESSION Concerned about increasing rates ofTB/HIV co-infection and multidrug-resistant TB; Recognizing that, despite the progress achieved in addressing the issue of TB and poverty, access to TB services by economically and otherwise disadvantaged groups needs to be further improved; Welcoming continued financial and technical support from WHO and other partners in the Region to strengthen human capacity building and to introduce new regional guidelines on laboratory quality assurance; Further welcoming collaboration among Member States, WHO and partners in secunng financial support from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Appreciating the evaluation of the special project carried out by the external evaluation team; I I. URGES Member States: (I) to strengthen political commitment and to accelerate DOTS coverage in Member States with a high burden ofTB in order to reach regionwide coverage by DOTS by 2005; (2) to strengthen human capacity building for TB control in order to build strong central management units; (3) to foster collaboration with partners in order to make the most efficient use of disbursements from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, in order to reduce the funding gap still further; (4) to improve the quality of laboratory services, strengthen community awareness of TB and, if appropriate, to expand public-private cooperation in order to increase the case detection rate; (5) to focus on T8 and poverty issues in order to improve access by economically disadvantaged patients to free T8 diagnosis and treatment, in the context of poverty reduction; (6) to strengthen monitoring by organizing programme reviews that include all partners; (7) to improve surveillance for TBIHIV co-infection and to strengthen monitoring of drug- resistant TB; 2. REQUESTS the Regional Director: (I) to support Member States to strengthen human capacity building for TB control in order to build strong central management units; (2) to support Member States to strengthen TB laboratory services, implement new regional quality assurance guidelines for sputum microscopy examination, strengthen community awareness of TB and expand public-private cooperation in order to achieve a 70% case detection rate by 2005; (3) to continue collaboration with partners, in order to reduce the funding gap for TB control in the Region; I Programmatic Evaluation of Tuberculosis Control through Technical Cooperation at the Country Level in the Western Pacific Region 20 February-l March and 6·15 April 2003, annex to document WPRlRC5417. REPORT OF THE REGIONAL COMMITTEE 17 (4) to collaborate with Member States and partners to monitor the TB control programme, including conducting joint programme reviews; (5) to support Member States to respond more effectively to the impact of poverty and marginalization on TB control; (6) to support Member States to develop better estimations of TB incidence by using all available data and improving estimation methods and in so doing to enable a more accurate assessment of the case detection rate; (7) to support Member States to improve surveillance for and management of TBIHIV and multi drug-resistant TB; (8) to ensure that the recommendations of the external evaluation team are carried out. WPRlRC54.R7 Ninth meeting, 12 September 2003 WPRlRC54/SRJ9 SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME (SARS) AND OTHER OUTBREAK-PRONE DISEASES The Regional Committee, Recalling resolution WHA56.29 on severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and WHA56.28 on the revision of the International Health Regulations; Recognizing the dedication and courage of the health workers of the Western Pacific Region in responding to SARS outbreaks; Further recognizing the health workers who lost their lives combating the disease and WHO staff member Dr Carlo Urbani, who in late February 2003 first brought SARS to the attention of the international community and died ofSARS on 29 March 2003; Acknowledging that strong government commitment, excellent collaboration between Member States and the international community, and rapid mobilization of human and financial resources in affected countries enabled effective measures to contain the spread of SARS to be implemented; Concerned that outbreak-prone diseases such as SARS pose serious threats to public health, health care systems and economic stability in the Western Pacific Region; Recognizing the need to have access to information from all sources, including informal sources, and to exchange information about disease outbreaks in a timely and transparent manner in order to prevent the international spread of diseases; Noting that many Member States in the Region still do not have adequate capacity to detect and respond to outbreak-prone diseases such as SARS;