While notable progress has been made towards Millennium Development Goal targets for Tuberculosis (TB), the disease remains a major global health problem. There were an estimated 8.6 million new cases of infection and 1.3 million deaths from TB in 2012. Although treatment success rates are high at 87% of all new cases, undetected cases and treatment coverage gaps threaten to hold back gains. Gaps in TB detection and treatment contribute to increasing drug resistance and financial burden for patients. With the rising threat of multi-drug- resistant-TB and the increasing vulnerability of individuals with HIV to TB co-infection, both private and public sector efforts are needed to combat TB and to improve health outcomes for the poor.

CHMI profiles TB programs that utilize innovative approaches to improve case detection, reduce diagnostic delays, and lower the cost of care. More than 45% of CHMI’s TB programs are concentrated in East and West Africa and 97% are private, not-for-profit models. Emerging practices profiled by CHMI tend to focus on three major issues in TB care: correctly identifying individuals with TB, recruiting patients into TB treatment, and ensuring treatment compliance. These components span the TB care continuum and address key points in a typical patient pathway.

One emerging approach is the use of mobile technologies to strengthen TB surveillance and patient adherence to drug regimens, which is important for reducing person-to-person transmission of TB. Adherence to treatment programs is critical – the disease carries a high mortality rate if not treated, and breaks in regimen can lead to drug resistance. Other programs in the CHMI database train Informal Providers to offer TB services as well as to contribute to an overall increase in access to diagnostics and treatment, as these providers are often the first point of contact for TB care. Understanding emerging practices, especially in the private sector, is going to be critical for improving outcomes in TB care.

Explore the full list of programs working in Tuberculosis, our blogs and other conent here on the TB topics page.