The Problem

Tuberculosis (TB) is a preventable and curable airborne infection that kills roughly 4,000 people every day. With more than 1.5 million deaths every year, TB is the world’s most deadly infectious disease, and more than one million children get sick with TB every year. Alarmingly, an increasing proportion of infections are now resistant to many of the antibiotics traditionally used to treat the disease. TB often affects the most marginalized and vulnerable groups in society, and exposes weaknesses in health systems, as patients do not receive care for infection and disease.

What We Support

The Zero TB Initiative helps to facilitate the:

• identification and support of local consortia against TB to drive sharp reductions in TB death rates and prevalence

• design of comprehensive programs at those sites in local context

• mobilization of complementary financial, technical, and clinical resources

• exchange of resources and experts between sites, encouraging mutual aid

• dissemination of knowledge and generation of global political will

The Call to Action

The Zero TB Initiative aims to bring the global TB epidemic into the elimination phase by focusing on local government participation to drive and maintain successes against the disease in multiple locations. To achieve this goal, the initiative facilitates interaction between implementing coalitions — working in specific geographically defined areas — that are ambitiously tackling TB in all its forms by prioritizing a comprehensive set of activities. Initiative partners and supporting organizations are committed to utilizing a comprehensive approach. 

A Comprehensive Approach  

While there are many excellent treatment TB programs outside of wealthy health systems, very few contain all the programmatic elements called for by a review of the available evidence. The Zero TB Cities project is committed to utilizing an evidence-based, comprehensive framework to significantly increase case detection and reduce TB disease and death rates.

A rigorous study of the effect of the initiative's interventions and those of partners in each city will contribute to the evidence base that exists for optimizing TB programs.   

Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, the Zero TB Initiative will follow a patient-centered, locally-driven, and innovative approach to delivery high-quality care. Local coalitions across the country and including civil society, municipal governments, and private organizations will work together to scale a Search-Treat-Prevent approach. Some prospective partners were previously included in this list in error. An up-to-date partners list is below.

Odessa, Ukraine

In Odessa, city authorities have outlined ambitious reforms and critical opportunities as they intend to align with the Search-Treat-Prevent framework. This work will strengthen and integrate with ongoing and planned efforts to address complex challenges, including HIV, homelessness, and drug use, among the people who most need care. 

Vietnam

In Vietnam, the Zero TB Initiative serves as a platform for coalitions in Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, and Hoi An to increase case detection, introduce new diagnostic procedures and technologies, and target TB infection as part of a larger, patient-centered comprehensive approach.                                                 

Chennai, India

In Chennai, the Zero TB Initiative plays a supportive role in implementing a city-wide, multi-institutional partnership working to drive down TB rates and preventable deaths by accompanying patients as they navigate the public and private health sectors.

Karachi, Pakistan

In Karachi the Zero TB Initiative helps support the implementation of an innovative drive to eliminate TB by drawing on world-class hospital network, flexible new resources and data-driven interventions in this coastal mega-city of 20 million people.

TB Cero Carabayllo

In Carabayllo (a municipality in Lima, Peru), a public commitment has been made to support patients comprehensively and to prevent and treat all forms of TB according to the highest standard. The coalition is working to bring together more municipal governments and stakeholders across the city.