Intercountry Workshop on Surveillance, Monitoring and Evaluation of TB Control Programme, WHO/SEARO, New Delhi, 21-24 September 2004

Address by Dr Samlee Plianbangchang Regional Director, WHO/SEARO at the Intercountry Workshop on Surveillance, Monitoring and Evaluation of TB Control Programme WHO/SEARO, New Delhi, India 21-24 September 2004 Address by Dr Samlee Plianbangchang, Regional Director, WHO South East Asia Region at the Intercountry Workshop on Surveillance, Monitoring and Evaluation of TB Control Programme, SEARO, New Delhi, 21-24 September 2004 Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen; • It is my great pleasure to welcome you all to the Intercountry Workshop on Surveillance, Monitoring and Evaluation of TB Control Programme. • Tuberculosis continues to be a major killer among communicable diseases. • Each year, more than 8 million people in the world develop the disease; and over 2 million die of it. • The South East Asia Region is home to 40% of the global tuberculosis burden. • Despite the success achieved by national control programmes, TB continues to be a major problem threatening health of the public. • Poverty, migration, urbanization, work in high-risk environments, and the alarming spread of HIV/AIDS are making people increasingly at risk and susceptible to the disease. • When dealing with Tuberculosis problem, we have also to keep in mind the related social and economic factors. • These aspects need to be taken into consideration when Tuberculosis control programme is developed and implemented. 2 • Tuberculosis is basically seen as a medical problem, but it cannot be tackled successfully through medical means alone. • Colleagues, there is now an increased commitment towards TB control, both at national and international levels. • Global support has remarkably increased through mechanisms; such as the Global Fund and the Global Drug Facility. • Various partnerships have been developed to support the programme in a multidisciplinary and multisectoral manner. • In March this year, I decided to proceed with TB as a Special Programme in the Region. • By doing so, we hope to increase the profile of TB control programme as a priority health intervention in the Member States, with particular attention to alliance building. • WHO has always given its special attention to developing and strengthening national TB control programmes, underlining the importance of surveillance, monitoring and evaluation. • Reinforcing institutional capacity and investing in the human resource development are key elements of WHO’s support. • We in WHO are also fully committed to providing support to countries in developing sound policies, strategies and plans; and we are making use of our comparative advantage in mobilizing additional resources to help countries. 3 • The DOTS strategy, which is a package, combining various key components of TB control, has been shown to be very effective in all regions of WHO. • It is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions against TB available today. • This strategy has provided evidence that the incidence of TB and its burden can be reduced substantially, if at least 70% of estimated cases are detected, and 85% of these cases are successfully treated. • These are the targets set by World Health Assembly in 1991, the targets which are to be achieved by the end of 2005. • All Member States in our Region are poised to achieve these targets. • Ladies and gentlemen, the United Nations Millennium Summit has included, as one of the Millennium Development targets, to have halted and begun to reverse the incidence of Tuberculosis by 2015. • Although these targets may seem very ambitious, and the date seems a long time to come; it is necessary for us now to start monitoring vigorously the progress of our interventions. Ladies and gentlemen, • It is in light of this that this workshop is considered relevant and timely indeed. 4 • The workshop is aimed at providing necessary knowledge, understanding and skills for appraising the impact of our programme activities. • It will serve as a benchmark for defining our milestones on the road towards our targets. • I expect that this workshop will provide a better understanding of the merits and deficiencies of the current surveillance system and other measures, being used for monitoring and evaluation of Tuberculosis control. • I also hope that the workshop will help us in developing and adopting the improved methods of data collection and management; and as a result, make our programme management more efficient. • This workshop is of a technical nature. • It will impart specific knowledge and skills in assessing our programme progress and achievements. • The experience gained from such assessment will enable us to adjust our policies, strategies and plans, as required. • WHO is convening and facilitating the workshop as a part of our overall support to Member States in developing and improving national TB control programmes. • I am confident that the vigorous follow-up action on the recommendations of this meeting will provide us with more reliable information on various aspects of the regional and country TB situations; 5 • This will certainly have a really positive impact on programme development and management. Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen; • We should not forget, however, that being shadowed behind all these statistical information and figures are faces of so many people, patients and communities, who are suffering from TB problems, medically and socially. • They really deserve our priority attention. • To be effective in the development and management of TB Control Programme, the data and information from our surveillance system must also include those reflecting the related social and economic domains of the problems. • It is our duty to think further on how to accommodate such important information requirements in our monitoring and evaluation exercise. • Please keep in mind, ladies and gentlemen, a well-conceived and well-run TB programme has the best potential to cure patients, medically and socially; to interrupt transmission of the infection; to reverse trend of the epidemic; and to put TB under control until it is no more a problem of public health importance. • Finally, I wish you fruitful deliberations; a successful workshop; and all the best in the management of your national TB control programmes. 6 • I also wish all of you a pleasant stay in Delhi. • Thank you very much.