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The International Union Against
Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), now into its 89th year, provides
technical assistance, education and research to promote lung health in low-
and middle-income countries. Based in Paris with regional offices in the
Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America, the Union has almost 10,000
members and subscribers from more than 145 countries.
Modeling the global fight against TB: 1978-1991
In 1978, in response to a request from the Minister of Health of Tanzania,
the IUAT proposed the establishment of a National Tuberculosis Programme
under the direction of the government and with the support and coordination
of the IUAT.
This proposal was the basis of a new
IUAT programme of Technical Assistance, and became the basis in 1979 for the
first edition of the Tuberculosis Guide. Such assistance was eventually
extended to nine low-income countries and became later on the basis of the
WHO's current DOTS strategy.
In 1982, the Koch centenary was celebrated at the 25th conference in Buenos
Aires. That was the year when the commemoration of World TB Day on March 24
started on a proposal by the Mali TB Association, a constituent member of
The Union.
The principles of the model National Tuberculosis Programme, outlined on the
occasion of the retirement of Dr Styblo in 1991, were subsequently
enumerated as the "DOTS" strategy, and promoted as the official policy of
the WHO. In that year, The Union's international TB training course was held
in Arusha for the first time, to illustrate the principles of the model DOTS
programme.
In 1998, The Union joined with WHO and other international partners to form
the "Stop TB" initiative which later on turned to be the present “Stop TB
Partnership”.
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