High profile health professionals to assess TB hot spots in PNG

By: Jacob Marcos-NDoH Media

A high powered team of health professionals called Regional Green Light Committee have arrived in the country on Monday to assess TB hot spots in the country.

 The team’s visit was to:

1.      assess implementation of the programmatic management of drug-resistant TB (focusing on hotspot areas);

2.      review the progress of implementation of the recommendations from the previous monitoring Mission on PMDT and;

3.      provide technical guidance on programmatic management of drug resistant TB in Papua New Guinea (focusing on hotspot areas).


The rGLC team members include: Charles Daley, Chair of Global Drug Resistant-TB Initiative (GDI) (T1), Kitty Van Weezenbeek, Executive Director, KNCV (T1), Sushil Pandey-Chief Scientist of Queensland Mycobacterium Reference Laboratory, Brisbane, Australia (T3), Erica Lessem-Director TB-HIV project, Treatment Action Group (T2), Maria Gler-Management Science of Health, Philippines (T2), Ernesto Jaramillo-Medical Officer, World Health Organisation  (WHO) /GTB  (T3), Gioliano Gargioni-Medical Officer, WHO/GTB (T2), Nobuyuki Nishikiori-STB coordinator of WHO/WPRO (T1) and Shalala Ahmadova-Technical Officer, WHO/WPRO (T3).

 The team have been met by the National Department of Health and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) and partners and evaluate and review:

·         Case finding strategies, interim and final treatment outcomes and case-holding of patients currently enrolled;

·         Laboratory network;

·         Treatment strategies for Multidrug resistant and Extensively drug-resistant TB (M/XDR-TB), administration, follow-up including management of side effects of medicines and pharmacovigilance;

·         Implementation of introduction of new TB drugs and shorter regimens;

·         Coordination between the NTP, donors, NGOs and other stakeholders and partners' inputs in assisting Programmatic Management of Drug-resistant TB (PMDT);

·         TB infection control;

·         Information system and data management and;

·         Funding and Human Resources for PMDT.


The rGLC was established in 2011 to promote the rational scale-up of programmatic management of drug-resistant tuberculosis (PMDT).

 They reflect on its achievements, consider the challenges faced, and explore its potential future role.

 Achievements include the supervision and support of national PMDT action plans, increased local ownership, contextualized guidance, and a strong focus on regional capacity building, as well as a greater awareness of regional challenges. Future rGLC activities should include (1) advocacy for high-level political commitment; (2) monitoring, evaluation, and supervision; (3) technical support and contextualized guidance; and (4) training, capacity building, and operational research. Regional activities require close collaboration with both national and global efforts, and should be an important component of the new Global Drug-resistant TB Initiative.



Picture: TB Treatment