Whole is greater than the sum of its parts

SUMMARY REPORT of the online consultation: PARTNERSHIPS that fill a gap in tuberculosis (TB) prevention, care and/or control

This is a summary report of an online consulation that was facilitated by CNS: www.citizen-news.org a partner of the Stop TB Partnership using social media platforms and also the Stop-TB eForum that was established by the Health and Development Networks (HDN) in early 2001, and currently is supported by the Stop TB Partnership, the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, and managed by CNS. The online consultation was held during October 2011 in lead up to the 42 nd Union World Conference on Lung Health, Lille, France. The views expressed in this publication are those of the participants that took part in the e-consultation facilitated by the Citizen News Service - CNS. October 2011 CNS: This content is available under the Creative Commons Licence Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) license

The writers of Citizen News Service (CNS) come from affected communities who have something to say on issues they feel for or are affected by in their daily lives, and give a voice to the voiceless. CNS syndicates content generated in four languages (English, Hindi, Urdu and Thai) under Creative Commons (CC) attribution license and produces 4 hours of radio programmes daily for FM radio in northern Thailand. CNS is facilitated by a Thailandbased company - Jay Inspire Co Ltd (JICL) - Media and Communication Services. Where People Come First! CNS: www.citizen-news.org 2|Partnerships that fill a gap in TB prevention, care and/or control

TABLE OF CONTENTS
About the online consultation. 5 What worked, what didnt: Lessons learned from partnerships. 7 Case studies
1. TB Photovoice 13 2. Partnership for TB Care and Control in India (PTCC). 14 3. PCI - US and Mexico.. 16 4. Nigeria. 17 5. Wote Youth Development Projects, Kenya.17 6. International Services Association (INSA India)..18 - National partnerships facilitated by the Stop TB Partnership..19

of people from countries around the world came together for the Stop Tuberculosis march at the XVIII IAC Vienna (2010) with the message: People living with HIV stop dying of TB

Hundreds

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DR MARCOS ESPINAL, then-Executive Secretary, Stop TB Partnership and DR MICHEL SIDIBE, Executive Director, UNAIDS signed a memorandum in July 2010

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About the online consultation

The 42nd Union World Conference on Lung Health will be held in Lille, France, on 2630 October 2011 on the theme: "Partnerships for scaling up and care." The theme highlights the vital importance of collaboration in our common efforts to address the conditions affecting lung health. The CNS (www.citizen-news.org) facilitated a time-limited online consultation in lead up to the above conference focussed on the following GUIDING QUESTION:

What are the different types of groups, people, organizations or entities you have partnered with to fill a gap in TB prevention, care and/or control.
Over hundred commentaries from 24 countries came in through a
diverse range of channels including the global Stop-TB eForum, blog, twitter, Facebook, and comments sent by email. The participants of the online consultation came from the following countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Viet Nam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The participants of the online consultation spoke their world and shared their experiences of how they began the partnership, how did they convince the other entity of the benefits of entering into the partnership (whether formal or not) as well as what has worked and what has not to strengthen TB responses locally. The online consultation was open from Monday, 3rd October to Friday, 21st October 2011. The participants had their say via a diverse range of channels such as: - Emailing us their comments, perspectives and experiences at: stopTB@citizen-news.org - Going online and publishing their comments real time on www.citizennews.org - Emailing the Stop-TB eForum at: stop-tb@eforums.healthdev.org - Using skype and we recorded their statement (skype id: bobbyramakant ). - Tweeting us! used #tag #Lille2011 - Having their say on CNS Facebook page - Calling us and recording their statement (+91-98390-73355)

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Here's good advice for practice: go into

partnership with nature; she does more than half the work and asks none of the fee - Martin H. Fischer

If we are together nothing is impossible.

If we are divided all will fail - Winston Churchill

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WHAT WORKED, WHAT DIDNT

Lessons learned from partnerships
ACSM STRATEGIES
A strong element of some partnerships has been the advocacy, communication and social mobilization (ACSM) strategies. For example in Mexico, the national TB programme (NTP) provided its technical expertise and infrastructure and PCI through its SOLUCION TB Programme provided the knowhow of working with affected and vulnerable communities.

PERSON-CENTRE MODEL FOSTERING COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT

An important innovation of a partnership consisted of the appropriation of a person-centered model of service delivery and mechanisms that foster community empowerment and work to reduce stigma and discrimination. The partnership addressed healthcare needs for TB, HIV/AIDS and diabetes.

ENGAGING MOST-AT-RISKPOPULATIONS

artnerships should make sure that louder voices don't dominate - and - they are truly driven by the communities even if governments and big NGOs and donors are a part of it

Engaging most-at-risk-populations (MARP) as equal partners with dignity is crucial to make programmes work optimally. These MARPs include: Injecting drug users (IDU), poor people, people living with HIV (PLHIV) among others.

INFORMAL PARTNERSHIPS WORKED

A participant from Nigeria said: The structured partnership mechanism set up by Stop TB Partnership (Nigeria Stop TB Partnership has not worked due to so many reasons including interim National Committee's inability to function. However, at informal level partnership for TB control and care has worked and is an effective tool for TB control and care. Through our organisation advocacy efforts, we have been able to form informal partnership with community leaders and community members, thus involving and selecting community volunteers for TB case finding. Also informal partnership with primary health centres in the community has helped to educate TB patients on drug adherence and other issues.

IMPROVING COUNTRY-LEVEL PARTNERSHIPS AND ALIGNMENT REAL COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION

Open, simple and practical communication solutions are also a key in making partnerships work at all levels. Partnerships require real collaboration and coordination, not just meetings. Many participants described weaknesses not so much in the model itself, but in how it is being implemented. The issue of community voices being present in various partnerships but not necessarily heard was raised 7|Partnerships that fill a gap in TB prevention, care and/or control

repeatedly. They need to be involved at all levels planning, budgeting, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation phases.

PARTNERSHIPS SHOULD ENSURE LOUDER VOICES DONT DOMINATE

Country-level partnerships should make sure that louder voices don't dominate- and - they are truly driven by the communities even if governments, big NGOs and donors are a part of it.

COMMON AGENDA NOT CONFINED BY ORGANISATIONAL MANDATES

Partnerships work only when members agree on a common agenda rising above and beyond their organisational agendas at times. If we limit ourselves to our organisational mandates only, then partnerships are likely to suffer.

NEED TO ENGAGE NON-TRADITIONAL STAKEHOLDERS

Participants also highlighted the need to engage non-traditional stakeholders such as other Ministries in addition to Ministries of Health and other non-governmental organisations other than those working on TB directly (for example those working on diabetes, HIV, poverty, nutrition among other issues).

TRUST IN COMPETENCE OF CIVIL SOCIETY

anaging partnerships is always a challenge. It is easy to walk out of partnerships due to differences or other reasons and much more a challenge to make them work!

A participant said: We also have to stop thinking that civil society cannot do the work properly. People who are dealing with TB are also equal partners in finding solutions that work. In order to optimise the reach and impact of TB programmes, affected communities need to be involved meaningfully at all levels. Their expertise in reaching the unreached among others must be recognized and duly respected. Another participant said: Real action if any has, and will, come at local level. That is where a partnership can make a real difference. Another participant said: "One way to make sure that the partnerships are community driven is to ensure that these are not run by governments - and civil society gets direct funding or support. We need to trust the competence of civil society - and - its ability to learn, organize and innovate when given a chance. Give it a chance."

PARTNERSHIP FUNDING A DOUBLE EDGED SWORD

Managing partnership funding both a challenge and an opportunity. Said a participant: Even without money, voluntary partnerships of civil society or diverse stakeholders are never easy to manage. With money things can become more difficult if we are not careful. It is a double edge sword.

IMPROVED MONITORING AND EVALUATION

Participants highlighted the need for improved and collectively developed monitoring and evaluation systems so that medium and long-term objectives, indicators and targets align with national systems.

PARTICIPATION AND REPRESENTATION

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A participant said: All partners must realize (especially those more in power) that by increasing participation and representation they will strengthen the partnership as a whole and achieve much more than they will ever individually or in smaller groups. Representation by different members should be consultative with the constituencies they respectively represent.

IMPROVING COORDINATION AND INCLUSION

The partnership needs to be coordinated well and in such a way so as to stimulate more inclusion of partners in strategies, decision making and other areas such as advocacy planning at all levels. A participant said: Smaller partners are not there just to implement what the big partners decide.

TRANSPARENCY

A participant said: Transparency within the partnership is very important indeed especially when it comes to financial matters.

GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

There are certain key issues which affect the governance and management systems to facilitate a partnership, such as conflict of interest, tokenistic participation in programme planning, incompetent monitoring systems, and unrealistic capacity building systems.

LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS

he partnership needs to be coordinated well and in such a way so as to stimulate more inclusion of partners in strategies, decision making and other areas such as advocacy planning at all levels. A participant said: Smaller partners are not there just to implement what the big partners decide.

Many participants advocated for paying more attention in strengthening local level partnerships. A strong and active TB partnership on the frontline can effectively feed into and impart strength to state- or national- level partnerships. This will also address genuine representation of affected communities in TB responses at local, state or national level and will also improve their participation in discourses related to TB responses.

NO SELF-SUSTAINABILITY PLAN FOR PARTNERSHIPS

A participant said: Partnerships can be a means of mobilising resources for the partners. However in most cases the resource mobilisation is from external sources and there is no self-sustainability plan available. When money dries, the partnership withers.

STRIKING A BALANCE

A participant said: It is also important for partnerships to strike a balance between alignment with national policies and strategies, and keeping an independent voice that helps feed into strengthening these policies through a watchdog approach.

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SAFE SPACE FOR CIVIL SOCIETY DOESNT EXIST IN EVERY COUNTRY

A participant said: Governments should give an equal opportunity for civil society to get engaged in TB responses. In many countries, it is difficult to believe that governments will not 'control' such partnerships thereby negating all the good we want to achieve by civil society engagement.

ONE PARTNERSHIP, ONE AGENDA, UNITED RESPONSE

Without a unifying and common or shared agenda such discussions of working in partnerships and then partners working amongst each other will go in circles. The donors should invest money in shaping such a platform where members can agree on an agenda reflecting needs of communities, mobilize resources and implement effectively said a participant. Another participant added: Partnerships exist - but to strengthen them will require a platform where all members can participate as equals - not a partnership where some are more equal than others. That is why coordinated response is a challenge - especially Partnerships exist - but to when dominating government strengthen them will require agencies and their handpicked or favourite NGOs rule the show. a platform where all

TEACHING BY PRACTICE

Partners should establish standard workplace policies related to HIV, TB, sexual and reproductive health, gender and other issues within their organisation before asking the entire Partnership to take a stand. This will not only reduce staff vulnerability but also build an enabling workplace environment.

MUTUAL TRUST AND RESPECT

A participant said: Good partnership only can exist, if mutual trust and respect can be realized. If not, competition, jealousy even animosity, may be inevitable. To make a partnership successful, there must be respect for individuals and agencies it works with, whether they are the person directly impacted by TB or the staff of a TB organization. Another participant said: Building a solid relationship based on trust, understanding, sincerity, and flexibility has enabled us to create a family feeling for the individuals and organizations we have partnered with over the years. We have worked with local health jurisdictions, private and public TB organizations, universities, government agencies, advocacy/education organizations, media outlets, individual donors, churches, and community businesses.

members can participate as equals - not a partnership where some are more equal than others. That is why coordinated response is a challenge - especially when dominating government agencies and their handpicked or favourite NGOs rule the show

GENDER

A participant said: These partnerships on TB must ensure they have well representation of different genders. Preferably they should be led by other genders than a man. It is important to recognize and let other genders take leadership and be given such opportunities - and supported by the entire 10 | P a r t n e r s h i p s t h a t f i l l a g a p i n T B p r e v e n t i o n , c a r e and/or control

partnership when they convene. For example, in western UP [a state in India] which is a very patriarchal society, unless women are engaged in leadership roles, how else will TB programmes become gender sensitive to their needs, challenges and what works and what doesn't work with them? So is true for others in more severity like transgender populations - these are important voices and communities know best - and only these voices can help programmes reach the unreached.

RIGHT IN HEALTH BUT NO RIGHT IN GOVERNANCE?

A participant said: What about nations where civil society generally is struggling for basic human rights but is expected to run democratic, ideal, equitable and just partnerships on TB? Is it because of the funding? That is why our responses on TB must accommodate programmes addressing social determinants of health and social justice.

NATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS MAXIMISE EFFORTS OF EXISTING STATE AND NON-STATE ACTORS

A participant said: The partnering process allows national partnerships to maximize the efforts of existing state and non-state actors; bring more services and awareness-raising campaigns to the people, where they are; give a unified voice to non-state partners; and serve as a platform to develop funding proposals and implement grants.

PRINCIPLES OF EQUITY

A participant said: People who are doing the service provision on the frontlines are least remunerated and those sitting on top of TB responses either at the state, country or global level, are heavily remunerated - compare the remuneration please. This inequity has to stop in the development sector and let us have some balance to strengthen country responses to TB.

or example, in western UP which is a very patriarchal society, unless women are engaged in leadership roles, how else will TB programmes become gender sensitive to their needs, challenges and what works and what doesn't work with them? So is true for others in more severity like transgender populations these are important voices and communities know best - and only these voices can help programmes reach the unreached.

UNITY

A participant shared: the Partnership provides a voice of a unified civil society in engaging with the government in TB care and control through efforts like providing recommendations into the program planning of national TB programme

PARTNERSHIPS BUILD TRUST BETWEEN MULTIPLE SECTORS

A participant said: the partnership is building trust and collaboration between multiple sectors involved in TB care and control initiatives, through national and regional consultations, with equal participation from all sectors 11 | P a r t n e r s h i p s t h a t f i l l a g a p i n T B p r e v e n t i o n , c a r e and/or control

to brainstorm on collaborative efforts and have various channels for communication and sharing of experiences among partners.

DEFINING ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES WITHIN A PARTNERSHIP

A participant shared: Some of the challenges faced during the formation and functioning of the Partnership include interacting with the different mindset of a variety of partners from diverse sectors ,defining roles and responsibilities of the partnership acceptable to all stakeholders; and defining a governance system maintaining equal representation.

The above photograph is of one of the many events that were spontaneously organized by citizens who were part of an informal civil society led partnership in India that mobilized a huge response in fight against corruption spearheaded by noted social activist Anna Hazare (2011)

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CASE STUDY I
TB Photovoice
TB Photovoice
has been working collaboratively with TB organizations from around the world since 2006. The mission of TB Photovoice is to facilitate the use images, stories and dialogue to elevate the voices of individuals directly impacted by tuberculosis so that they as well as their communities can improve their overall health. When we speak of gaps in TB prevention, care and/or control, the very creation of TB Photovoice was due to the lack of perspective at all levels from persons directly impacted from TB. In order to accomplish our mission, we must first and foremost provide respect for the individuals and agencies we work with, whether they are the person directly impacted by TB or the staff of a TB organization we are training to implement a photovoice project. Building a solid relationship based on trust, understanding, sincerity, and flexibility has enabled us to create a family feeling for the individuals and organizations we have partner with over the years. We have worked with local health jurisdictions, private and public TB organizations, universities, government agencies, advocacy/education organizations, media outlets, individual donors, churches, and community businesses. We have never convinced a group to work with us. Rather, we enter a mutual partnership when asked by an organization to work with them. We listen to their needs and together we decide how best to provide our skills and resources. Since we are clear on our goals as an organization, it is up to us to listen to a partnering group to understand their perspective and together build a positive, working relationship. Teresa L Rugg, MPH TB Photovoice Project Director 7619 137th Ave. SE Snohomish, WA 98290 USA Email: twrugg@frontier.com Website: www.tbphotovoice.org

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CASE STUDY II
Partnership for TB Care and Control in India (PTCC)
The Partnership has its roots in a Round 8 proposal for the Global Fund when a united 16 members of the India Coalition Against TB and 9 of the NGO TB Consortium came together under a common goal in March 2008. In August 2008, USAID supported a 'Jump-Start Project' through a World Vision grant for this collaboration. The national Partnership finally evolved in a meeting attended by 44 organisations in New Delhi in November 2008, and a working group was constituted in December 2008 to streamline its agenda. In January 2009, a Secretariat was appointed and hosted in the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) followed by a first meeting of the working group and the process was initiated to form the Steering Committee. In March 2009, the Partnership's first monthly newsletter- came out and a draft Memorandum of Association was circulated. 13 partners signed it in April and the first Steering Committee meeting was held in May . By June 2009, a Charter of the Partnership's vision, values and goals was drafted, and a website is functional www.tbpartnershipindia.org The 'Partnership for Tuberculosis Care and Control in India' (the Partnership) brings together civil society across the country on a common platform to support and strengthen India's national TB control efforts. It seeks to harness the strengths and expertise of partners in various technical and implementation areas, and to empower affected communities, in TB care and control. It consists of technical agencies, non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations, affected communities, the corporate sector, professional bodies, media and academia and is presently 90 partners strong. The Partnership has added value in many ways: - UNITY - PTCC provides a voice of a unified civil society in engaging with the government in TB care and control through efforts like providing recommendations into the program planning (RNTCP) phase III. PTCC is recognized by the program, has a representation in the working group for RNTCP III planning and in the National Coordination committee for Global Fund Round 9.

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- SERVICE - PTCC has been successful in getting the Global Fund Round 9 for ACSM covering 740 million population which strengthens community mobilisation in the fight against TB. - TRUST -PTCC is building trust and collaboration between multiple sectors involved in TB care and control initiatives, through national and regional consultations, with equal participation from all sectors to brainstorm on collaborative efforts and have various channels for communication and sharing of experiences among partners. - CAPACITY BUILDING PTCC sought the expertise from among the partners to train others i.e. ACSM (through PATH) and engaging with media (through media partners and funded by Eli Lilly). Some of the challenges faced during the formation and functioning of the Partnership include interacting with the different mindset of a variety of partners from diverse sectors, defining roles and responsibilities of the partnership acceptable to all stakeholders; and defining a governance system maintaining equal representation. WHAT WORKED? The defining of the common goal which is to support and strengthen India's national TB control efforts through a range of expertise working from a unified response through the partnership. It is the harnessing of these strengths and competencies that the partnership can support the program through specific requirements. Dr Darivianca Elliotte Laloo Technical Officer Secretariat Partnership for TB care and Control in India
Hosted by: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) South-East Asia office, New Delhi, India

Email: DLaloo@theunion.org Website: www.tbpartnershipindia.org

WHAT WORKED? The defining of the common goal which is to support and strengthen India's national TB control efforts through a range of expertise working from a unified response through the partnership.
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CASE STUDY III

PCI US and Mexico
PCI works in tuberculosis (TB) in Mexico since the year 2000. Over the years, the main and strongest partnership of our program (an NGO) has been with the Ministry of Health's National Tuberculosis Program (NTP); the NTP provides its technical expertise and infrastructure and PCI through its SOLUCION TB Program provides the knowhow of working with affected and vulnerable communities; a strong element of this partnership has been the advocacy, communication and social mobilization (ACSM) strategies. An important innovation of our joint approach consisted of the 'appropriation' of a person-centered model of service delivery and mechanisms that foster community empowerment and work to reduce stigma and discrimination. Through this collaborative platform PCI's SOLUCION TB the NTP Program and state partners, have collaborated with community-based organizations, service clubs (such as Rotary Club); municipal governments, and private agencies such as Universities, businesses, and others. Presently, PCI is working in five locations in Mexico strengthening collaboration among TB and co-morbidities (Diabetes Mellitus and HIV/AIDS) Programs. Thanks Blanca Lomeli Regional Director US and Mexico Programs, PCI Email: BLomeli@pciglobal.org Website: www.PCIGlobal.org Website: www.SOLUCIONTB.org

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CASE STUDY IV
Nigeria
The structured partnership mechanism set up by Stop TB Partnership as par the Nigeria Stop TB Partnership has not worked due to so many reasons including interim National Committee's inability to function. However, at informal level partnership for TB control and care has worked and is an effective tool for TB control and care. Through our organisation advocacy efforts, we have been able to form informal partnership with community leaders and community members, thus involving and selecting community volunteers for TB case finding. Also informal partnership with primary health centres in the community has helped to educate TB patients on drug adherence and other issues. Partnership with other CSOs has added impetus to the commemoration of world TB day. Chibuike Amaechi Lagos, Nigeria Email: good2neighbour@yahoo.com

CASE STUDY V
Wote Youth Development Projects, Kenya
We youth in Wote (Kenya) have been advocating for full participation of the community particularly those who suffer or have had TB and have trained 180 community workers. We have partnered with the government health workers to do so but it has not been easy. The government workers are not very much willing to let go their control. This makes it very difficult to implement the community strategy. An example is where the monthly stipend does not reach the MDR-TB patients because the money passes through the government (gets delayed or is stuck) and the patient don't get it and if a CSO makes noise then the government avoids working with that CSO which is a trouble maker for them. My take is to empower the CSO more because it's easier for the government to legally supervise them. Peter Ngola Wote Youth Development Projects, Kenya Email: pngola@yahoo.com

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CASE STUDY VI
International Services Association (INSA India)
I have been following some of the TB/HIV discussions here and would like to add that the time has come for all NGOs and networks to develop their own workplace policies related to HIV, gender, SRHR and TB in order to reduce staff vulnerability and build an enabling workplace. Our research of a pilot programme in south India demonstrated the need for this strategy in tackling stigma, even in NGOs with focussed HIV programmes too. "Self care", "getting our own house in order", "ensuring all are on board with HIV related empowerment", "practice before preaching" are some of the CSO learnings that ensures meaningful delivery to communities being targetted. For more information on managing HIV in the CSO workplace, or for facilitation of the same, do get in touch. Our work has been supported with applied research from baseline to end line (south) . We are presently ensuring this process for 35 CSOs in Delhi MP UP Chhatisgarh and FBOs in Karnataka. When staff is empowered beyond trainings through a workplace policy programme, the scope of the CSO is meaningfully widened. Edwina Pereira Program Director-training International Services Association INSA India Bangalore, India Email: insaind@airtelmail.in, san-sip@airtelmail.in Website: www.theinsaindia.org

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National Partnerships
National partnerships to stop tuberculosis (TB) bring varied partners together to develop and implement shared action plans to tackle TB. The partnering process allows national partnerships to maximize the efforts of existing state and non-state actors; bring more services and awarenessraising campaigns to the people, where they are; give a unified voice to non-state partners; and serve as a platform to develop funding proposals and implement grants. If you do not already have a national partnership, now is right time to start. The financial crisis, TB-HIV co-infection and the rise of drugresistant TB are stretching the resources of TB programmes around the world. This makes the case for founding a national partnership through the partnering process all the more compelling. The partnering process consists of three steps: 1) Conduct a workshop to confirm a shared vision between all partners and map the resources that each partner can contribute;

he partnering process allows national partnerships to maximize the efforts of existing state and nonstate actors; bring more services and awarenessraising campaigns to the people, where they are; give a unified voice to non-state partners; and serve as a platform to develop funding proposals and implement grants.

2) Develop a shared national TB plan which has clear roles and responsibilities for each partner based on their strengths; 3) Mobilize resources and implement a shared national TB plan. The added value of a partnering approach has been verified by existing national partnerships. Swaziland Stop TB Partnership reports: Thanks to the partnership, the national manager can focus on performing its core coordination role, while partners activities are streamlined through identification of areas of comparative advantage. The coordination of activities with the national TB strategic plan has been implemented and quarterly monitoring and evaluation meetings have been under taken. 19 | P a r t n e r s h i p s t h a t f i l l a g a p i n T B p r e v e n t i o n , c a r e and/or control

Through the partnerships joint planning, additional resources have been secured, mainly from the Global Fund. For more information about the partnering process, please visit our website: www.stoptb.org/countries/partnerships/ and our new leaflet: www.stoptb.org/assets/documents/countries/partnerships/National%20part nerships%20to%20stop%20tuberculosis.pdf describing the added value of the partnering approach. Elisabetta Minelli Partnership Officer Stop TB Partnership Secretariat Geneva, Switzerland Email: minellie@who.int

The added value of a partnering approach has been verified by existing national partnerships. Swaziland Stop TB Partnership reports: Thanks to the partnership, the national manager can focus on performing its core coordination role, while partners activities are streamlined through identification of areas of comparative advantage. The coordination of activities with the national TB strategic plan has been implemented and quarterly monitoring and evaluation meetings have been under taken. Through the partnerships joint planning, additional resources have been secured, mainly from the Global Fund.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This online consultation was facilitated by a CNS team including Jittima Jantanamalaka, Rahul Kumar Dwivedi, Shobha Shukla and Bobby Ramakant. We are grateful for a personal communication with Young-Ae Chu and previous commentaries on the Stop-TB eForum from members to help us come up with a theme. We would like to thank all those who were interviewed as part of this online consultation and who took the time to share their views. We are also grateful to the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance) for supporting Shobha Shukla at CNS to report on-site from the 42nd Union World Conference on Lung Health in Lille, France (October 2011). Concept, cover-page, design, layout, and photographs:
As there was no funding support for professional cover-page, design, layout and photography, we are unable to get it done by experts. So the content has been put in this form by volunteers of CNS and if you are interested in supporting the publication and professional design, layout and printing, then please contact Jittima Jantanamalaka at jittima@citizen-news.org. Thanks

(Logos where used, have been taken from the websites of respective organisations)

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