Ethiopia hosts WHO Global Task Force meeting on TB Prevalence Survey in African Countries

The Ethiopian Ministry of Health and its Agent, the Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute (EHNRI), in collaboration with WHO host second meeting of WHO Global Task Force on TB impact measurement/TB prevalence survey in African countries from 5 to 8 October, 2010 at the United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC-AA), Addis Ababa.

The meeting was aimed to share information among countries about the current status of survey design, preparation and implementation and to provide survey managers and coordinators from African countries with an opportunity to learn about recent successful experience with implementing nationwide surveys in Asian countries and sub national surveys in Africa.

Participants of the meeting who also discussed survey plans and survey operations in African countries, including financing and technical assistance requirements, have also observed field operations in practice in Fodu gora Kebele, Wolisso district, Ethiopia, and have a first-hand understanding of the main technical, organizational and managerial challenges associated with field operations and how they can be addressed.
WHO Global Task Force on TB Impact Measurement, which contains experts in TB epidemiology, representatives from major technical and financial partners, and representatives from countries with a high burden of TB, was established in June 2006.
The Task Force has a mandate to produce a robust, rigorous and widely-endorsed assessment of whether the 2015 targets for reductions in TB incidence, prevalence and mortality are achieved at global level, for each WHO Region and in individual countries, regularly report on progress towards these targets in the years leading up to 2015 and strengthen national capacity in monitoring and evaluation of TB control.