Meeting of CIS Working Group on Tuberculosis held in Minsk

A meeting of the CIS Working Group on Tuberculosis under the CIS Coordination Board on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was held on 2 December.

The event was attended by representatives of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth.

The main issue of the meeting was the discussion of the results of the implementation in 2020-2024 of the Joint Action Plan of the CIS Member Nations to Prevent the Spread of Tuberculosis and preparations for the meeting of the CIS Advisory Board on Cooperation in Field of Public Health, which will be held on 6-7 December in St. Petersburg.

The members of the Working Group noted that the tuberculosis situation in the Commonwealth countries tended to significantly improve, while demonstrating good dynamics. Such positive results indicate the special attention to this problem in countries and the measures taken to solve it.

Regarding the results of the implementation of the Plan, it was noted that all CIS countries had a national policy in the field of early diagnosis, treatment and prevention of tuberculosis; national programs had been developed to fight this disease.

During the discussion, the members of the Working Group came to an understanding about the expediency of developing a Draft Plan of Joint Actions for 2026-2030.

At the same time, the members of the Working Group supported the initiative on the need to develop Recommendations for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Diseases Caused by Non-Tuberculosis Mycobacteria. The holding of the first International Congress of experts from the CIS countries in the field of respiratory health was also supported. It is planned to be organized on October 2025 in Minsk.

The Tajik side expressed interest in discussing the use of innovative technologies and artificial intelligence in the diagnosis of tuberculosis, as well as expanding scientific and pedagogical potential to improve the level of professional training and retraining of phthisiologists and primary care specialists.

The participants summed up the results of the Working Group in 2024 and spoke in favor of the need to maintain the Working Group, despite the completion of the Plan, and also outlined areas of interaction in 2025 if their suggestions are supported by members of the CIS Advisory Board on Cooperation in the Field of Public Health.

Representative of the IPA CIS Council Secretariat at the CIS Executive Committee Igor Borovko participated in the event.

The next meeting of the group is scheduled for the first quarter of 2025.

Photo: cis.minsk.by