WHO Releases Updated Guidance on Planning for Tuberculosis
GENEVA, Switzerland — The World Health Organization released a new guidance on Tuesday to support national strategic planning for the tuberculosis response.
The guidance encourages the use of a people-centric focus in the development of a national TB strategic plan.
It also highlights the importance of government stewardship and ownership, promotes alignment with national health strategy and other health programs, emphasizes multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral engagement as one of the key steps for multi-sectoral accountability for TB.
“The guidance builds on the latest WHO guidelines and emphasizes the need for strengthening accountability across all sectors in the national strategic plan, in close alignment with the broader health and development agenda in the country,” said Dr. Tereza Kasaeva, director of WHO’s Global Tuberculosis Program.
“It highlights the importance of comprehensive and inclusive engagement of relevant stakeholders and partners, including those from civil society, during NSP development and implementation to build ownership and facilitate planning and roll out of quality TB services that are responsive to the needs of people and affected communities”.
A national strategic plan for TB is a key document that guides the national tuberculosis response through interventions within and beyond the health sector.
It should outline the overall goals, strategies and interventions prioritized by national health authorities and stakeholders, and how these are coordinated across various sectors in line with the latest WHO guidelines and tools.
