By Mishal Khan (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine)
This is the first World Tuberculosis (TB) Day since high-level UN General Assembly meeting on TB in September 2018. Strong commitments were made by political leaders and hopes are high. Enthusiasm for a revolutionary shift in tackling infectious diseases often results in a focus on breakthroughs in basic science, and experts have emphasised that applied health policy and systems research is also urgently needed to define affordable and effective intervention strategies and to provide a strong evidence-base to guide investments that maximise health gains with rational use of funds. Indeed, health policy and systems research on TB is lacking – Health Policy and Planning receives relative few submissions on TB, even though this is the leading cause of death from any infectious disease – and we therefore seek to make existing research in our journal easily and freely available. Platforms such as the LSHTM TB Centre seek to catalyse more collaborative research and exchange of knowledge between TB researchers representing diverse disciplinary perspectives. The joint LSHTM-UCL annual World TB Day event, which also links in USCF, is an important opportunity for exchange of ideas across disciplines and institutions. It is envisaged that such efforts which facilitate much needed future research that situates strategies to tackle TB within health systems strengthening and engages with the complex risk factors for TB, including poverty, migration, food insecurity, and conflict.
Tuberculosis: Health Policy and Systems Research
Tuberculosis is now the leading cause of death from an infectious disease. In support of World TB Day, this collection of articles from Health Policy and Planning specially curated by Section Editor Dr Mishal Khan, give a comprehensive view of the wider debate on TB control.
The role of the Technical Review Panel of the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria: an analysis of grant recommendations
Guido Schmidt-Traub
Treatment of tuberculosis in complex emergencies in developing countries: a scoping review
Geraldine Munn-Mace, Divya Parmar
Costing essential services package provided by a non-governmental organization network in Bangladesh
Wu Zeng, Yara A Halasa, Marion Cros, et al.
Migrant tuberculosis patient needs and health system response along the Thailand–Myanmar border
Naomi Tschirhart, Francois Nosten, Angel M Foster
Reducing stock-outs of essential tuberculosis medicines: a system dynamics modelling approach to supply chain management
L Bam, ZM McLaren, E Coetzee, KH von Leipzig
Evidence to inform resource allocation for tuberculosis control in Myanmar: a systematic review based on the SYSRA framework
Mishal S Khan, Sara U Schwanke Khilji, Saw Saw, et al.
Does treatment collection and observation each day keep the patient away? An analysis of the determinants of adherence among patients with Tuberculosis in South Africa
Stephen Birch, Veloshnee Govender, Jana Fried, et al.
The challenge of sustaining effectiveness over time: the case of the global network to stop tuberculosis
Kathryn Quissell, Gill Walt
Additional Resources
- Read the Supplement on Evidence to improve global tuberculosis control strategies: lessons from Southeast Asia led by Dr Mishal Khan.
- Discover the interactive infographic of Global Strategy for TB Control from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
- Listen to the podcast ‘Evidence to improve global tuberculosis control strategies: lessons from Southeast Asia‘ with Dr Mishal Khan and Dr Anthony Harries.
