Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading infectious disease killer globally and in 2015 it claimed the lives of 1.8 million people. This deadly disease is transmitted through the air from person to person and it occurs in the United States and around the world. TB is curable, but inappropriate treatment can lead to multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), which is resistant to the two most effective anti-TB drugs, and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB), which is often deadly. An MDR-TB outbreak in the United States or in other countries will have serious consequences for individuals due to the long, difficult and toxic regimen required, and for health systems and economies due to the very high cost of treatment and the burden that MDR-TB places on health providers and institutions.
In December 2015, the U.S. Government released a plan to address this growing crisis domestically and internationally and to advance research on this critical public health issue. The National Action Plan for Combating Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis (National Action Plan) is a 5-year plan that not only builds on the U.S. Government's domestic and global TB strategies, as well as the World Health Organization's END TB Strategy, but also contributes to the success of these existing strategies.
The goals of the National Action Plan are to:
- Strengthen domestic capacity to combat MDR-TB
- Improve international capacity and collaboration to combat MDR-TB
- Accelerate basic and applied research and development to combat MDR-TB
This interagency progress report summarizes the activities undertaken during the first year of implementation and shares the advances made toward the milestones.
National Action Plan for Combating Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis: Year One Report
Since January 2016, the U.S. Government agencies charged with implementing the plan have made progress toward achieving its three goals and corresponding objectives.
Download the full report [PDF, 7.0MB].
National Action Plan for Combating Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis
On December 22, 2015 , the U.S. Government issued a comprehensive set of federal activities and a call to action to the global community to combat the rise of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).
The National Action Plan for Combating Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis, developed by an interagency working group in response to Executive Order 13676: Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and the National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria, identified a set of targeted interventions that addressed the core domestic and global challenges posed by MDR-TB and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB).
The recommended interventions represented the U.S. Government’s contributions to reversing the worldwide spread of MDR-TB and were designed to help inform policy development processes around the world.
The National Action Plan is an effort to articulate a comprehensive strategy and to mobilize political will and additional financial and in-kind commitments from bilateral and multilateral donor partners, private-sector partners, and governments of all affected countries.
Resources
- Watch a video of the launch event
- Read the press release announcing prominent health care companies partnering with USAID to combat
- Watch a video message from Congressman Eliot Engel.
- Watch a video of Senator Sherrod Brown sharing his thoughts on the National Action Plan.
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