In Chisinau, an online meeting of TB-REP 2.0 partners with the chairman of the parliamentary commission on health in the Republic of Moldova took place, at which the issue of relaunching the National Assembly on control of Tuberculosis (TB Caucus) was discussed. That had become necessary in the light of formation of the new Parliament of the Republic of Moldova.
It is interesting to note that Moldova joined the global initiative of parliamentarians involved in fighting tuberculosis back in July 2017. The first members of the national-level TB Caucus movement brought together 29 MPs, who signed the declaration on its establishment. It was the largest group of national parliamentarians in the TB Caucus global movement.
The meeting on October 13, 2021 was attended by:
The participants of the event discussed the feasibility of re-launching the parliamentary platform of the TB Caucus movement, considering the results and achievements of the former team, as well as the experience of other countries and the possibilities of cooperation at the parliamentary level.
Thus, at the meeting it was noted that in 2017-2019 the movement was one of the most active in the region, culminating in the public hearings “Global mobilization and commitments in the fight against tuberculosis. Multisectoral Approaches to Recovery in the Republic of Moldova ”, organized on March 14, 2018, including with the participation of regional partners. Based on the results of public hearings, a Resolution was adopted, which ensured the sustainability of medical and social support services for people undergoing TB treatment at the outpatient level..
Alesya Matusevich, EECA Region Coordinator within the Global TB Caucus, presented the work of the global initiative of parliamentarians involved in the fight against tuberculosis. She noted that the Global TB Caucus is the world's largest independent parliamentary network with over 2,500 members from over 150 countries. The network covers 4 geographic regions: Europe and Central Asia, Africa, America, Asia-Pacific and 2 language regions - Francophone and Portuguese. Network parliamentarians work both collectively and individually to accelerate progress in TB control.
During the TB Caucus meetings, parliamentarians share their experiences and discuss issues such as: the impact of COVID-19 on TB services, as well as share their national experiences and progress in the context of TB control.
According to Ms. Matusevich, given the different realities in the region, parliamentarians, participants in such meetings, present different approaches to protecting the rights of people affected by tuberculosis. The experts of the WHO European Office and the PAS Center are in direct dialogue.
At the end of the meeting, Dan Perchun, Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on Social Protection, Health and Family, confirmed his interest in resuming the national TB Caucus in Moldova, and also confirmed his readiness to engage in solving other pressing problems related to tuberculosis in Moldova.
TB -REP 2.0 Background
Since 2016, PAS has been implementing a regional program funded by the Global Fund to Fight HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria to promote a people-centered model of quality tuberculosis (TB) care (TB-REP -2016-2018 and TB -REP 2.0 - 2019-2021). The program covers 11 countries in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EEAC) region, including the Republic of Moldova, and is implemented in partnership with the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, TBEC European Coalition, (TB People ) and network of parliamentarians participating in the fight against tuberculosis (the Global TB Caucus ,GTBC).
One of the activities of the program, implemented in conjunction with GBTC, is to mobilize members of parliament from TB-REP countries and advance TB-related issues in the legislative agenda in each of the 11 countries of the EEAC Region.