On December 22, 2015, the White House officially released a plan to address multidrugresistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) domestically and internationally and to advance research on this critical public health issue through a National Action Plan for Combating MDR-TB (hereafter referred to as the NAP). The release was followed by a launch event on January 7, 2016, which was open to the general public. The NAP, which will build on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) END TB Strategy and the U.S. Government’s (USG) domestic and global tuberculosis (TB) strategies, will contribute to the success of these existing strategies.
Since January 2016, the USG agencies charged with implementing the NAP have made progress toward achieving its three goals and corresponding objectives. During this short period of time, the urgency of addressing MDR-TB as a global public health emergency has grown and the international landscape for action has begun to shift. “In May 2016, the highly anticipated Review on AntiMicrobial Resistance (AMR) was released by Lord Jim O’Neill, Commercial Secretary to Her Majesty’s Treasury in the UK and Chair of the AMR Review, setting a global blueprint for action, including specific recommendations to counter MDR-TB. Following on this report, AMR will be the priority health topic highlighted at the United Nation’s General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2016. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington, D.C., in early June 2016, he discussed the MDR-TB situation in India with President Obama. In both India and South Africa, National TB Programs have begun to expand access to new diagnostic tools and treatments. Notably, both countries are mobilizing domestic resources that will contribute to the NAP milestones.