Progress Report
The ACTION project fights the TB epidemic through effective advocacy for increased resources. TB claims more lives than any other curable infectious disease in the world, and it is only a lack of political will that allows it to continue.
WHAT WE HAVE DONE
Mobilized Funding
Over the past four years, ACTION partners have played a critical role in mobilizing over US $554 million in new resources to fight global TB from the project's targeted countries.
*Amount in millions of US dollars
**2007 Other Bi/Multilateral funding includes only US. 2007 funding data for Canada, Japan and UK are forthcoming.
Influenced Government Action
ACTION partners have:
- Educated legislators about the critical need to boost US efforts to fight TB; as a result of ACTION's continuous efforts, with the support of other partners, Congress authorized $4 billion for TB over 5 years.
- Influenced policy commitments on TB and TB-HIV from the G8, the UN, and the World Bank.
- Engaged Gordon Brown, Hilary Benn, and Tony Blair - the three most influential UK government leaders - to sign the Call to Stop TB.
- Brought together TB and HIV/AIDS officials to improve diagnosis, care and treatment of TB-HIV patients in India, Indonesia and Kenya.
- Worked with the Kenyan Ministry of Planning and National Development to include TB in the Country Vision for 2030.
- Led in the creation of the Stop TB Partnership in Japan, the first-ever UK All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on TB, and the first-ever India Parliamentary Group on TB.
Demonstrated Effective Advocacy
ACTION partners have:
- Helped launch The Global Plan to Stop TB and ensure the declaration of a TB emergency in Africa.
- Spurred the World Bank’s “renewed commitment” and increased attention to TB and TB-HIV in Africa.
- Ensured a seat for a TB representative on the Global Fund’s Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) in Kenya.
- Ensured the designation of two TB-specific seats on the GFATM Northern and Southern NGO delegations.
- Helped form the first TB patient activist group in India and an MDR-TB patient activist group in Kenya.
- Brought civil society organizations in Kenya together to create the United Civil Society Coalition against AIDS, TB and Malaria (UCC-ATM), a model for advocacy movements on health in endemic countries.
- Cultivated a new generation of TB champions at the highest levels in government, civil society, and the media.
- Organized 10 delegation trips to endemic countries to engage policymakers in the fight against TB.
- Held over 600 meetings with key US officials and staff.
- Held over 800 interactions with Indian policymakers.
- Published numerous policy papers, report cards, and advocacy guides: see ACTION publications.
Generated Media Coverage
ACTION partners have:
- More than doubled the number of media pieces on the global TB epidemic in Canada, Japan, the UK and the US.
- Increased media attention to TB and TB-HIV by 100% in Kenya.
- Increased media attention to TB and TB-HIV by nearly 300% in India.
- Garnered a total of 2,048 media hits between 2005 and 2007.
WHAT WE HAVE YET TO DO
And the ACTION project is just getting started. We will continue to work to fill the funding gaps to implementing universal access to TB diagnosis and treatment, reversing the spread of MDR-TB and XDR-TB, coordinating TB-HIV efforts more effectively, and ultimately controlling the TB epidemic.
