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Technical experts from The Union and other organisations participated in the first joint monitoring mission initiated by the Lao PDR's National TB Programme (NTP) with support from the WHO Western Pacific Region. Dr Steve Graham of The Union's Child Lung Health Division…

Minister of Health Jaime Mañalich said implementation of the new law is one of the priorities of the country, since Chile has the highest rate of smoking in Latin America, with more than 40% of adults and 34% of teenagers aged 13 to 15 using tobacco.

The two-day…

The Union coordinated with the Ministry of Health to train the 200 people who gave tuberculin skin tests to 7,740 school children attending 251 public and private educational institutions in cities with populations over 20,000 across 9 selected regions of the country. The…

The Union's phase II pharmacokinetic (PK) study assessing different doses of rifabutin in combination with protease inhibitor-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV-infected patients with tuberculosis in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam (ANRS 12150b Trial) has been completed.…

Tobacco use is a significant public health problem in Quintana Roo, where 10% of the population is addicted to tobacco. On average, young people are reported to have their first experience with tobacco at the ages of 12 or 13, so this group is considered to be at high risk.…

The decisions mandating collection of a "Single specimen during follow-up smear examination for TB patients," "Single specimen during follow-up culture for MDR-TB patients," and "No mid-continuation phase follow-up sputum examination among TB patients" were taken on the basis…

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The delegation that met with President Mukherjee included Dr Nalini Krishnan (second from left) who represented civil society as part of The Union-implemented Global Fund Round 9 Project Axshya and a member of the Partnership for TB Care and Control, India. She spoke with the…

There is a saying: Life begins after 40, but it did not mean for Kyaw Kyaw Htwe. He was 39 when he died suddenly on 26 January 2013, and his family and colleagues felt that life was unfair to take him back so early.

When I joined at The Union Office in Myanmar in 2007…

The risks associated with TB infection transmission have increased significantly with the HIV epidemic, and TB is a leading cause of death among people with HIV/AIDS. To help address this issue, The Union has developed a new three-day intensive course on TB infection control…

The Union Zimbabwe Office conducted its first National Training of Trainers on Programmatic Management of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Course for health workers on 14–18 January in Bulwayo. The course objective was to enable healthcare workers to detect cases of DR-TB, manage…

Statistics on multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant (MDR-/XDR-) TB make the challenge clear. The number of cases in the 27 high-burden MDR-TB countries doubled between 2009 and 2011. Of those estimated to have these forms of TB, only 1 in 5 receives appropriate…

The Union has received a grant from France Expertise International/Initiative 5% to coordinate an operational research study on a 9-month regimen for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). The study will be conducted in 9 francophone African countries. The hope is that…

Chile's President Sebastián Piñera officially launched the country's new comprehensive tobacco control legislation at a ceremony in Santiago on 1 March 2013. The new legislation bans smoking in all enclosed public places and prohibits all forms of tobacco advertising.

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The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) congratulates the Russian Federation on the adoption of a comprehensive tobacco control law, signed into force by President Vladimir Putin on 25 February 2013. The law includes establishment of 100%…

New York's Pace University and The Union have launched two new professional certificate programmes that draw on their combined strengths. The Health Care Policy and Management and Security Analysis certificate programmes each include 5 courses applicable to a master's degree…

 A significant gap often exists between tobacco control laws as they are written and the way they are enforced on the street.  To help countries improve the implementation of their laws, The Union has developed Smokefree implementation and enforcement, a new 5-day…

Project LIGHT, which introduced LED-based fluorescent microscopy (LEDFM) at 200 medical colleges across India, resulted in the detection of 5,495 more new sputum smear-positive TB cases in 2012 than in 2011. The project managed by The Union South-East Asia Office (USEA) was…

Operational research is increasingly recognised as an essential tool for evaluating and modifying health practices and policies. To help meet the urgent need for health professionals with the skills to conduct this type of research independently, The Union's TREAT TB…

Despite the increased focus on the health and development burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), the priority interventions will do little to ameliorate the enormous and growing impact of asthma, according to an article by the Steering Group of the Global Asthma Network…

Since 2009, 93 researchers from over 40 countries have been through rigorous operational research courses developed and conducted by the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) and Médecins Sans Frontières–Brussels Operational Centre, Luxembourg…

The global burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is one of the biggest threats to international health and development, confirms a major new Series in the Lancet today. These diseases – cancer, cardiovascular disease, and chronic respiratory disease and diabetes – are…