
Saturday, March 24, is officially World TB Day but there has been a stream of activities, publications, news and messages to let the world not forget about this major infectious disease killer that claims millions of lives each year. We present links and summaries of events, publications, messages, and news coverage leading up to World TB Day.
he 21st Stop TB Partnership Coordinating Board retreat and meeting officially started in Bangkok, Thailand, on Sunday, January 29th with the official opening ceremony held yesterday January 30th. Included are some exciting news from the meeting courtesy of Mark Harrington, Executive Director of the Treatment Action Group (TAG).
Today, the fourth annual G-FINDER survey tracking funding for research and development of neglected disease technologies was released. This year’s report shows that funding for product development is on the decline and product development partnerships (PDPs) have been particularly hard hit, as eight of the top twelve public donors cut their funding in 2010. Now is a time of tremendous opportunity, with dozens of potential products within the reach of patients–donors must commit to taking them across the finish line.
Yesterday, BBC News published an article on the WHO Plan entitled “Consolidated action plan to prevent and combat multidrug- and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis in the WHO European Region 2011–2015.” The plan outlines the problem as well as a solution that could save 120,000 lives if successful.
We invite you to join us for the Stop TB Partnership Working Group on New Drugs’ Annual Meeting 2011 at the Grand Palais in Lille, France, on October 26. Also, we are sponsoring a dinner on October 25 at Le Barbue d’Anvers in Lille to allow our Sub-groups (Biology/Targets, Candidates, Critical Knowledge and Tools, and Clinical Trial Capacity) to meet and plan for activities for 2012. Please make plans to attend both events.
The Stop TB Partnership has provided information and references to help partners to prepare a successful proposal to The Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. The call for Round 11 applications was released on August 15. Go to http://www.stoptb.org/global/tbfriends/ to get more information.
The United Nations (UN) released a report on July 12 on the progress made thus far on the 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The eight MDGs include: end poverty and hunger, universal education, gender equality, child health, maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS, environmental sustainability, and global partnership. Key highlights and additional coverage on the report are included.