Training of top and middle level managers of national TB control programmes in Asia

The Stop TB Partnership has developed the Global Plan to Stop TB 2006–2015 which sets out the activities that will make an impact on the global burden of TB. There is an increasing pressure for more effective country level leadership and management to ensure political commitment, financial support, as well as implementation of this global plan. Strengthening of TB program management in the Asian region is thus urgently needed to address this challenge. However, there is the lack of training institutes in Asia that provide internationally recognized trainings for mid- and high-level managers of TB control. The Faculty of Medicine, Gadjah Mada University (FM-GMU), Indonesia as a prominent academic institution in the region with considerable expertise and experience in TB control has embarked on a collaborative project with the TB Coalition of Technical Assistance (TBCTA) partners to take up this regional challenge since 2007. The project provided technical and financial assistance to deliver high-quality trainings in support of national, regional and the global plan. Thus, in the long term the populations in Asia is expected to benefit from substantial reduction of TB prevalence and deaths through better managed TB control programs. This paper reports the lessons from the planning, implementation and evaluation of this regional capacity building initiative.