Theme, ‘’TB, TB/HIV and other lung diseases: challenges to the attainment of MDGs in Africa’’

The 18th African Union conference of the international union against tuberculosis and lung disease (IUATLD) was held from 3-5th March, 2011 in Abuja Nigeria. This biennial conference brings together stakeholders on TB and Lungs Diseases and provides ample opportunity for interaction and sharing of information and best practices for the control of these diseases

The Objectives of the three-day meeting were to provide the opportunity for country programmes officers , governmental organisations, non-governmental organizations and TB, TB/HIV stakeholders to:

Review the progress made towards the attainment of the MDGs in the region
Share best practices in overcoming the challenges in the control of TB, TB/HIV, tobacco and other lung diseases,
Review progress in the management of the emergence of drug resistant TB (MDR/XDR) in the face of a high prevalence of HIV,
Identify pragmatic solutions to the challenges with the control of TB, TB/HIV, tobacco and other lung diseases,
Define steps for accelerating progress towards the implementation of policies by National Authorities, Development Partners and all stake holders involved in the fight for good lung health and meeting the MDGs targets in the African continent.
The conference proceedings included 4 pre-conference workshops; 3 plenary sessions; 5 special sessions; 3 technical sessions; 1 roundtable session; 2 satellite sessions ; 58 oral presentations; 75 poster abstracts presentations, exhibitions by 20 organizations and 1 product presentation.

There were about 900 participants from 27 countries including; Dr David Okello who had recently taken office as the WHO Representative, Dr. Peter Eriki the immediate past WHO Representative for Nigeria who had been invited as a guest speaker, WHO officers from the African Regional Office Tuberculosis programme, members of the STOPTB unit in WHO Geneva, Officers from the IUATLD African Regional secretariat and from the Union HQ in Paris, National TB Programme Managers and officers from national programmes from 27 African countries, Chest Specialists and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).

The following are the main observations made on the progress toward the MDGS in the African Region:

Case detection rate in the regions is still low, far from the targets, though a few contries have reached the target
The African Region has made progress in the control of TB, TB/HIV, tobacco, asthma, and other lung diseases
The emergence of newer challenges such as MDR/XDR is complicating control global control initiatives
Weak health systems in several countries is still threatening progress towards the MDGS
There is a human resource gap and the attrition rate increases the need for more technical assistance in the region
The coordination of the different funding mechanisms is important.
Major resolutions and recommendations for follow up;

Countries in the region should identify Innovation for increasing case finding activities
Prevalence surveys should be supported for determining the true magnitude of TB and TB/HIV
Partnerships for funding of specific activities to control the surge of MDR /XDR, for easy diagnosis and reduction of treatment duration should be developed
Innovations are needed for newer rapid technologies for diagnosing TB
Innovations are needed for 1st line and 2nd line drugs with shorter duration of treatment
There should be increased government commitment for improving national programmes for control of TB, TB/HIV, tobacco and other lung diseases
The Abuja declaration should be followed up.