DFID TUBERCULOSIS KNOWLEDGE PROGRAMME

2001-2006

(click here for the final report, the full publications list
and list of available abstracts)

Tuberculosis has been declared a global public health emergency by the World Health Organization. The most recent estimates, produced by WHO in collaboration with the School, suggest that there are around 2 million deaths and 8.4 million cases each year and that almost 2 billion people may be infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria responsible for the disease. The rising number of tuberculosis cases and deaths has made tuberculosis a priority for many poor countries where the overwhelming burden of disease lies. Our studies have demonstrated that patients with tuberculosis are "doubly impoverished" - illness prevents them from earning their living but they still have to pay to access health care.

The DFID (Department for International Development) Tuberculosis Programme is a five-year medical research project based at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in collaboration with the Nuffield Institute in Leeds. It is a multidisciplinary Programme encompassing economics, anthropology, epidemiology, laboratory disciplines, health policy and clinical research.

MAJOR RESEARCH AREAS

• Better understanding of the social, economic and cultural influences on access to services for TB and adherence to treatment
• Developing and testing affordable approaches to improving the speed and accuracy of diagnosis
• Testing new strategies to improve coverage and treatment outcomes in TB control programmes
• Evaluating innovative ways to promote synergy between services for TB and HIV in countries most affected by the dual epidemic
• Exploring approaches to reducing the threat of multi-drug resistant TB
  
• Understanding the impact on disease control programmes, of different approaches to Health Sector Reform
• Policy Transfer

 

DFID Tuberculosis Knowledge Programme, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Clinical Research Unit, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT

Tel. 020 7958 8154 Fax. 020 7612 7860