EECA parliamentarians focus on protecting TB progress as region prepares for funding transition

Parliamentarians from across Eastern Europe and Central Asia have met with the Global Fund, WHO and civil society partners to discuss how the region can protect hard-won progress against tuberculosis as countries prepare for a significant shift towards domestic financing.

The Global TB Caucus brought together parliamentarians and partners from across Eastern Europe and Central Asia for a regional strategic meeting ahead of World Lung Day, with sustainable financing, early diagnosis and stronger regional cooperation emerging as key priorities.

The discussion came at an important moment for the region. Significant progress has been made against TB over the past two decades, including improvements in treatment and reductions in the overall burden of disease. At the same time, many countries are approaching a period in which external financing is expected to decline.

For parliamentarians, this changes the political task. Protecting progress will increasingly depend on whether national governments are prepared to finance the services, medicines, diagnostics and community programmes that have helped drive improvements against TB.

Preparing now for the financing transition

A representative of the Global Fund told participants that its investments in the region over more than two decades have coincided with significant reductions in TB and improvements in the affordability and efficiency of treatment, including for drug-resistant TB.

As countries' economies and health systems have developed, the Global Fund has accelerated its transition approach.

According to the presentation, most countries represented in the region, with the exception of Ukraine, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, are expected to enter a final transition funding cycle. This gives countries a critical period to prepare for a future with considerably less external financing.

The challenge is ensuring that progress is not lost during that transition.

For members of parliament, the immediate opportunity is clear. National budgets for the coming year are being developed and legislators can use their roles in budget scrutiny, oversight and engagement with ministries to understand where financing gaps remain and whether national TB programmes are prepared.

Alesia Matusevich, the Global TB Caucus Regional Manager for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, encouraged parliamentarians to engage directly with ministries, national TB programmes and other stakeholders as those budget decisions are made.

Sustainable transition will require more than replacing one source of funding with another.

Countries will need to ensure that effective services continue, civil society organisations remain supported and people affected by TB can continue to access high-quality prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care.

Political leadership remains essential

WHO/Europe Regional Advisor for TB and Drug-Resistant TB Dr Askar Yedilbayev reinforced the importance of political leadership alongside medical progress.

“We actually have the knowledge, we have the tools required to finally eliminate tuberculosis. However, medical capacities are not sufficient. We need political will.”

He highlighted the role parliamentarians can play through legislation, national budgets and support for the implementation of WHO-recommended approaches.

Early detection remains particularly important across Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Participants heard that countries need to strengthen active screening among key and vulnerable populations, improve the reach of contact investigation and expand access to modern diagnostic methods.

The discussion also underscored the regional nature of the TB response. Movement between countries, displacement and differing levels of TB and drug-resistant TB mean that progress cannot be viewed within national borders alone.

Coordinated political action across the region remains essential.

Building the next phase of regional action

Global TB Caucus Executive Director Matt Oliver reflected on the momentum built by parliamentarians across Eastern Europe and Central Asia and welcomed new political leadership within the regional network.

He also outlined areas where the Caucus expects to work more closely with partners and parliamentarians in the coming period.

One is TB vaccine readiness. Work supported by the Wellcome Trust will examine pathways for the future approval and introduction of new TB vaccines, including work focused on Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Preparing regulatory and policy systems before a new vaccine becomes available could help countries move more quickly when new tools are ready for introduction.

The Caucus is also beginning work on chronic respiratory diseases, initially focusing on Poland, as part of the wider Global Health Caucus.

These new areas will sit alongside continued political action on TB.

“It’s very important to us that we don’t lose that focus that we’ve had on TB, which has been so core to who we are,” Oliver told participants.

The meeting also discussed the development of an EECA lung health hub as a potential mechanism to build stronger regional coordination and explore more sustainable sources of support for parliamentary and civil society action within Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

The ambition is to strengthen regional ownership so that work on TB and lung health is increasingly supported and coordinated from within the region.

Turning transition into action

The coming years will test whether the progress made against TB in Eastern Europe and Central Asia can be sustained as the financing environment changes.

For parliamentarians, the transition creates a clear agenda. They can scrutinise national budgets, question governments about financing gaps, support stronger legislation, champion access to modern diagnostics and ensure communities and civil society remain part of the national TB response.

Regional cooperation will matter just as much.

TB does not stop at national borders. Neither can the political response.

The Global TB Caucus will continue working with parliamentarians, WHO, the Global Fund, civil society and other partners across Eastern Europe and Central Asia to protect progress and turn regional commitments into sustained national action.

TB anywhere is TB everywhere.