Each year The Union offers technical courses to strengthen capacity in clinical and programmatic management of all forms of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) at locations around the world. The five-day International Course on the Clinical Management of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis was recently held in Bangkok, Thailand – and it will be offered again in April 2016 in Indonesia.
The goal of the course is to upgrade the knowledge and skills of clinicians, especially with regard to timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment of drug-resistant TB. The Bangkok course was attended by 23 participants from a variety of countries, who were primarily from national TB programmes and technical organisations working in TB control in low- and middle-income countries.
The course was facilitated by Dr Chiang Chen-Yuan, one of The Union’s experts in DR-TB. Dr Chiang has provided technical assistance to national TB programmes in numerous countries in the Asia Pacific and other regions and represents The Union on the Core Group of the Global Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Initiative (GDI).
“From an overview of the disease, its diagnosis and treatment, we shared with participants our latest learnings in various countries and contexts,” said Dr Chiang. “The course certainly provides participants with a practical approach to the better management of DR-TB.”
Most of the participating countries have implemented the programmatic management of drug-resistant TB (PMDT), so participants were encouraged to make presentations on their PMDT activities. In addition to interactive in-class presentations and practical exercises, an informative field visit was organised to the Thailand Bureau of TB Control.
Upcoming course in Indonesia on 11-15 April 2016
The International Course on the Clinical Management of Drug-Resistant TB will be offered on 11-15 April 2016 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The deadline for applications is 1 February. For complete programme and application details, please click here:
The course will also be offered in Bangkok again on 21-25 November 2016.