Advancing TB Prevention and Elimination Response Through Grassroots-Based Organising

Advancing TB Prevention and Elimination Response Through Grassroots-Based Organising

 Grass-roots based organisations can gain positions of overt agency as TB Prevention and Elimination Champions who stimulate action; align volition; set up preparedness and readiness pace; catalyse participation; and cause transformational consciousness.

A commitment to end TB by 2030 was arrived at during the UN General Assembly’s 2018 high level meeting on tuberculosis. Then heads of State around the world came together and established the commitment. To achieve this goal, the UN adopted a set of global and national targets for countries to engage in activities ensuring a TB-free world.

Some targets and activities identified included providing opportunities for people to be involved in designing TB Prevention and Elimination action plans; improving accessibility of TPT and increasing global investments to support the fight against TB.

A follow up meeting will be held on September 26th, 2023 to review international progress toward “equitable access to prevention, testing, treatment, and care.”  This will present a critical opportunity to hear from grassroots based organisations; a platform where policymakers will be shown what people are demanding; and what needs to be prioritized in ending tuberculosis.

 Communities are important if this is to be achieved. Communities need to be empowered to translate agreed upon targets such as reaching all eligible people through TB detection, diagnosis, treatment, care and prevention; ensure response is rights-based, equitable, stigma-free, people and community-centred.

Advocating for progress toward Political Declaration is possible by re-galvanising communities to engage in activities to end TB such as scaling targeted interventions and potential for transformation of action in TB.

Key Areas of Action

Community Outreach: This includes community organising, raising consciousness around TB prevention and elimination, preparing communities through strategic plans and empowering members to identify possibilities to end TB. This facilitates targeted plans to spread awareness of TB prevention; treatment methods; and cascading into the UN targets for reducing TB incidence and mortality, while increasing TPT enrollment.

Case Detection: Communities must be empowered to increase the number of reported TB cases. Contributing to activities that close the gaps in the data available on the number of cases, diagnosis of tuberculosis and drug resistant TB is called for.

Equality: Communities can participate in promoting, preserving and protecting rights of those who are most vulnerable to TB. At this level, it is possible to identify those most likely to face housing instability; food insecurity; mobilise members to engage in livelihood projects; ensure safe spaces for TB survivors; and countermeasures against climate change, crises and cataclysms.

Equity: Shape inclusivity, response and participation through addressing political, physical, social, cultural, economic, gender, legal, environmental and public health enabling and responsive contexts.   Nuanced, tailored interventions build contexts for non-discrimination.

Protocol Embodiment: Deliberately and affirmatively develop a resource-pool guided by materials from WHO, Global Fund, Stop TB Partnership, NSPs/NTPs, CDC, Africa CDC, USAID, MSF, UN and other entities.  This has its benefits which may include: engaged coordination of community inputs to TB prevention and elimination policies, plans and programmes; ensure uniformity in application of protocols such as the CRG assessment protocol, TB Stigma assessment and; other protocols.

Government Accountability: Empowered communities contribute to the critical mass of spaces where NSPs targets are met. policymakers and government leaders can be invited in such spaces to experience first-hand transformation promoting good health and well-being to fit experienced objectivity and subjectivity.

Next Steps:

Communities can be empowered to assess, estimate and reduce risks and vulnerabilities fostering TB progression. Involving communities is integral for ensuring that ending TB remains on the political agenda.