End TB Strategy Approach

The End TB Strategy is based on 3 pillars underpinned by 4 principles (see figure below). The strategy follows a multi-pronged approach incorporating patient-centred care and prevention, bold policies and supportive systems, and intensified research and innovation.

Figure: Pillars and Principles of the End TB Strategy; Source: Proposed Post-2015 Global Tuberculosis Strategy and Targets, WHO, 2015

For the End TB Strategy to be successful, countries will need to focus on:

1. Advocacy: High-level political commitment and mechanisms to adapt and implement the strategy.
2. Collaboration: Multi-stakeholder collaboration between ministries of health, other ministries, communities, civil society and the private sector.
3. Baseline preparedness: On-ground assessment of the TB situation and health system capacity in their respective countries.

The strategy explicitly encourages governments and other stakeholders to take practical steps to attend to the needs of vulnerable populations and “ensure that tuberculosis is addressed in social protection, poverty alleviation, and related social policy agendas and programs”.

The strategy also requires that the biomedical innovations such as point-of-care diagnostics, novel vaccines, new treatments for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), and biomarkers to detect latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) be implemented alongside economic, social, and environmental interventions.

Resources

• The End TB Strategy, World Health Organisation, 2015.
• Proposed Post-2015 Global Tuberculosis Strategy and Targets, WHO, 2015.
• John CA. Realizing the World Health Organization's End TB Strategy (2016-2035): How Can Social Approaches to Tuberculosis Elimination Contribute to Progress in Asia and the Pacific?. Trop Med Infect Dis. 2019.

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