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As travel restrictions due to the global COVID pandemic abated in 2022, the TB DIAH team has had the opportunity to travel globally and meet with colleagues in person to support the development and implementation of the project’s many new or expanding tools and resources. From launching interactive web-based data dashboards, to publishing our work in journals, to establishing a regional TB data collaborative learning community, the team both broadened and deepened our work’s reach and impact. We’re looking forward to continuing our work to support USAID's Global TB Strategy 2023-2030 by ensuring demand for, analysis of, and the use of TB data to measure TB program performance and to inform TB interventions and policies. We invite you to take a look at the stories below for highlights of some of our proudest moments from 2022 and the springboard for our efforts in 2023 and beyond. Best wishes for the New Year from our team to yours!
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TBDIAH.org Relaunched
In response to the evolution and growth of the project since its launch, the project’s website was redesigned to help visitors better understand the scope of the project’s work and find what they need within it. Visitors can see the new site at http://www.tbdiah.org.
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Data Hub Expanded and Data Explorer Launched
Throughout the year, the Data Hub on TB DIAH’s website has been expanded to have better functionality for users. The team added data dashboards for TB and COVID , Drug-resistant TB, and TB Contact Investigation. The project also launched the Data Explorer, which allows users to generate their own charts and tables of TB data for the USAID TB-supported countries. The Data Explorer leverages data that is generated by national TB programs and submitted annually to the World Health Organization (WHO) or the Stop TB Partnership (for United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting (UNHLM) targets). The project hosted a webinar to introduce the Data Explorer, which can be viewed here.
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Data to Action Continuum (D2AC) Published in the Journal of Global Health Reports
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Quality TB Services Assessment (QTSA) Global Toolkit Updated
The QTSA is a health facility assessment that measures the quality of TB services in a country. The data can be used by National TB Programs (NTPs) and other TB stakeholders to pinpoint areas for strategic investment to improve the quality of TB services over time. QTSAs are comprehensive surveys that assess health facility structure, the service delivery process, and the outcomes of service delivery. In 2022, TB DIAH completed its QTSA report in Afghanistan, its QTSA fieldwork in Democratic Republic of Congo, and updated its QTSA Global Toolkit. The Toolkit presents detailed information and step-by-step guidelines on how to plan and conduct a QTSA and provides a standardized version of the QTSA tools and other useful implementation resources. Click here to learn more.
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TB DIAH at The Union World Conference on Lung Health 2022
The project had a robust presence at the 2022 Union Conference, held virtually November 8–11. The project’s QTSA team led two oral presentations: “Comparison of TB Services Available and TB Services Received in two East African Countries,” and, “Are individuals with TB receiving person-centered care? A multi-country comparison.” Our Centers of Excellence (COE) team presented the poster “Improving TB Monitoring, Evaluation, & Surveillance with a Virtual Center of Excellence Model,” and the D2AC Toolkit was presented globally for the first time in a poster entitled, “Data to Action Continuum: Introduction to the D2AC Model and Toolkit.” Participants in the conference can view these presentations at the Union World Conference on Lung Health website here.
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Established the Eastern Europe and Eurasia (EE&E) Center of Excellence for TB M&E
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TB DIAH established a virtual, regional COE to model, test, and share best practices in TB M&E in EE&E; serve as a hub for TB DIAH support in the region; and ensure synergy and effective use of resources. The COE is hosted by Georgia’s National Center for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC) together with the country’s National Center for Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (NCTLD).
In Tbilisi, Georgia, a founding event was held in May; a “TB M&E and Surveillance Regional Consultative Meeting” for EE&E national TB programs (NTPs) was held in July with participants from four countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Moldova); and a “Regional Training Workshop on TB M&E and Surveillance Capacity Strengthening” was held in November. More than 90 attendees from 10 Eastern Europe and Central Asia region countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan), including NTP representatives; civil society organizations working in community-based TB M&E; USAID Mission health staff; and USAID-funded TB implementing partners participated, as did USAID/Washington staff and representatives from the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe) and The Global Fund. Read more here.
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Launched TB DIAH E-Learning Page
Working in close collaboration with USAID, in 2022, TB DIAH developed its first e-Learning courses. “TB Contact Investigation (TBCI) for Frontline Workers,” teaches essential information about TBCI needed by frontline healthcare providers, public health staff, and community health workers to enable the implementation of TBCI programs on the ground level. A second course, “Finding TB Cases in People Living with HIV,” will launch in early 2023. Both courses will be available in English, French, Portuguese and Russian, and are the first of a series of planned e-Learning courses that will be developed by the project throughout 2023 and hosted on the TB DIAH site.
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Global TB Data Special Interest Group (SIG) Continues to Grow
Beginning in 2021, TB DIAH and USAID/Washington launched a monthly call to facilitate learning and discussion among USAID Mission staff and select stakeholders in TB focus countries. Now boasting 117 members from 20 countries, participants have discussed and provided input on changes to the Performance-based M&E Framework, heard from colleagues in the field on lessons learned implementing TB M&E best practices, and engaged directly with USAID/Washington’s TB M&E team to address questions and concerns about the reporting process for Performance Plan Report (PPR) indicators.
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TB DIAH Country Work
TB DIAH’s work in partnership with local governments in key USAID TB priority countries grew exponentially in 2022. Highlights of that work include:
Cambodia – TB DIAH worked with local partners and the National Center for Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control (CENAT) to collaboratively develop and ensure subsequent ongoing local ownership of a TB M&E capacity building training. Click here to learn more about the partnership; click here to see the training, available in English and Khmer.
- Democratic Republic of Congo – The TB DIAH DRC team established a partnership with the national TB program (NLT), completed fieldwork for a QTSA for the country, developed a national training curriculum for TB M&E with a follow-up training of traners and cascade training at a provincial level, and supported national operational research priority setting through active participation of the technical working group.
Eastern Europe Region – The COE that TB DIAH established in May of this year held its first regional capacity strengthening event in November and early December. The event brought together representatives of 10 EE/CAR countries for an event lauded for its strengthening of geopolitical coordination and cooperation as well as the technical capacity building provided. Read more here.
Kyrgyz Republic – The TB DIAH team launched the process for developing a Surveillance and TB M&E Strengthening Plan (STEP). A landscaping of the Kyrgyz Republic’s TB surveillance system was completed through document reviews and key informant interviews as well as a planning workshop held in Bishkek in November. STEP is a process that yields a comprehensive assessment of the TB M&E and surveillance system in a country and a costed action plan for improvement. To learn more, click here.
Nigeria – TB DIAH’s team in Nigeria continues to work hand in glove with the USAID Mission, implementing partners, and National TB and Leprosy Control Program (NTBLCP) to improve TB data use and reporting in the country. Activities have been far-ranging, from assuring automated partners’ performance reporting (APPR) by implementing partners, to customizing DHIS2 for Local Organizations Networks (LON) partners for data exchange between the APPR and partners’ data management system, to implementing capacity building on cascade analysis and use of TB data for programming decisions at the sub-national level.
Vietnam – TB DIAH launched field activities for the Vietnam QTSA in 2022, holding workshops with the NTP to adapt the standard QTSA tools to the Vietnam context and field testing the tools in NTP facilities in preparation for data collection which will take place in 2023. Results are expected in late 2023.
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