The 10th TB Research Annual Conference was held in Adama, Oromia Region, on 21-23 March 2015 preceding the World TB Day commemoration in Asella, Oromia, on 24 March 2015. The Conference, organized by the Ministry of Health, the TB Research Advisory Committee, Oromia Regional Health Bureau, Arsi University and Adama Hospital Medical College, was attended by more than 300 participants from the Ministry and its agencies, regional health bureaus, academia, research and partner organizations like the World Health Organization in Ethiopia. The theme for this year’s conference was, Innovations and Quality Care to Combat the TB Epidemic in Ethiopia. 

Although Ethiopia has already achieved the TB-related Millennium Development Goal targets, the country remains one of 22 High tuberculosis (TB) burden countries with an estimated 210,000 TB cases based on 2014 WHO global report. In addition, Ethiopia is one of the 27 high MDR-TB burden countries.. To further confound this, a large number of TB patients are co-infected with HIV, which poses diagnostic and treatment challenges. 

To overcome the challenge posed by the scourge of TB, Ethiopia’s National TB Control Program has made commendable efforts to improve access to TB diagnostic and treatment services by expanding these services to health facilities and engaging the health extension workers and communities in TB prevention and control activities. 
It is with full recognition of the need for innovation and research in responding to the TB epidemic, that the Ministry of Health established the TB Research Advisory Committee a decade ago, to lead on innovations and research for TB control. 

In his keynote address at the 10th TRAC, Dr Pierre M’pele, WHO Representative, commended the achievements made by the National TB Program, while at the same time reminding the need to work towards reaching the 40% of TB cases unreached or unreported for TB diagnosis and treatment. He also underscored the importance of innovations and research on TB as one of the pillars for the post-2015 TB elimination strategy.

For more information please contact

Dr. Esther Aceng
WHO Ethiopia
Email:   acenge [at] who.int

Loza Mesfin Tesfaye
Communication Officer
WHO Ethiopia
Email:   %20tesfayel [at] who.int (tesfayel[at]who[dot]int)
Tel: +251 911 144 194