The TB Europe Coalition (TBEC) is an advocacy network that brings together civil society representatives (individuals and organisations) from across the WHO European Region; in order to strengthen the role of civil society within the region response to tuberculosis (TB), and to increase the political and financial commitment required to effectively control the epidemic in the region.
The year 2016 is another critical year for the fight against tuberculosis (TB) in Europe. The latest evidence continues to affirm that the fight against TB, and particularly drug-resistant TB, is far from won in the region and sustained community advocacy, capacity building, and high-level advocacy are needed to achieve this goal.

Main specific objectives of the programme:
1) Increase understanding of the civil society contribution to the TB response;
2) By the end of 2016, maintain and strengthen the TBEC website as a regional platform serving 375 civil society stakeholders working within the TB response;
3) Provide access to TBEC support and representation to civil society stakeholders in at least 75% of countries within the Region by the end of 2016;
4) Strengthen the voice of civil society in all accessible EU and regional forums/ consultations throughout 2016;
5) Manage TBEC’s governance and internal processes for the successfully implementation of this work programme throughout 2016;

These objectives will be achieved via the delivery of key outputs:
- Map civil society stakeholders across the WHO European Region
- Facilitate access to information and resources for capacity building for target groups
- Conduct outreach to civil society across the region with the aim of expanding the network and building relationships with target groups
- Engage with decision-makers on behalf of civil society across the region
- Manage the network effectively to implement the three-year work programme

The TB Europe Coalition (TBEC) was formed in 2009 by a group of TB advocates from across the WHO European Region. The consistent increase of already high rates of drug resistant TB coupled with limited funding and low awareness among general populations and policy makers in the region called for an urgent action. Unfortunately, the scarcity of civil society organisations and advocates working on TB in the region meant that there were very few organisations or individuals mobilised or capacitated to advocate for TB at national or regional level. Acknowledging the similarities of concerns amongst countries and recognising importance of civil society within an effective response to TB in the past, TBEC was formed to bring together organisations and individuals in order to raise awareness about TB and advocate for bolder policies to fight this disease at all levels.

During following years, TBEC expanded its network mainly through online networking and communication tools such as a bilingual website and listserve, as well as regular country visits to high burden countries in Baltics, Caucasus and Central Asia. The country visits turned to be the most efficient way not only identifying the relevant stakeholders working on TB in the country but also providing opportunities for them to meet each other often for the first time. Throughout the years, the country visits incorporated many advocacy training activities, thus, substantially strengthening the advocacy capacity and skill set on the ground.

In 2016 TBEC continued to strengthen its position as a key civil society network, working on TB issues in EECA region. The continuous financial support from the EC allowed TBEC Secretariat and Steering Committee members to actively engage with various international and regional stakeholders such as Eurasian Harm Reduction Network, the Union, International AIDS and TB conferences, WHO Europe Regional Collaborative Committee on TB Control and Care and various EU institutions. However, the key achievements this year was: first of all, establishment of TB People – a Russian-speaking network of TB survivors that with TBEC support successfully convened in Bratislava alongside Union’s regional conference; secondly, participation in the TB REP project (TB in Eastern Europe and Central Asia on Strengthening Health Systems for Effective TB and DR-TB Control) which is implemented with the financial support of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia through 2016-2018. With the primary recipient of the Global Fund being PAS Center, Moldova, and under the technical leadership of WHO EURO a wide range of partners are involved in the TB-REP project implementation. TBEC, with international charitable foundation “Alliance for Public Health” (Ukraine), as a technical implementer is responsible for supporting the civil society organizations in their grass-root advocacy efforts in the TB-REP countries through capacity development, progress monitoring and information exchange.

Throughout the year, TBEC continued the effective engagement with EU, WHO and Global Fund on shaping TB policy, including transition, ambulatory care and antimicrobial resistance through participation in meetings and conferences, as well as publishing policy reports. Furthermore, TBEC Secretariat members continued to chair the WHO Regional Collaborative Committee (RCC) on TB, continuously increasing collaboration with WHO Europe and other technical partners. TBEC has also closely worked with the Global TB Caucus in order to strengthen ties between the CSOs and the parliamentarians, who are part of Global TB Caucus in EECA region in order to drive TB response at country level as well as regionally advocating for the update of new policies at the EU level.

TB Europe Coalition's key operational objectives are to adequately address the challenges and capitalise on the opportunities for civil society and communitie

The objectives were achieved via the delivery of key outputs that form the annual work programme by:

1) Mapping civil society stakeholders across the WHO European Region,
2) Facilitating access to information and resources for capacity building for target groups,
3) Conducting outreach to civil society across the region with the aim of expanding the network and building relationships with target groups,
4) Engaging with decision-makers on behalf of civil society across the region, and
5) Managing the network effectively to implement the three-year work programme.

TBEC conducted qualitative and quantitative mapping of civil society stakeholders in 30 target countries. Mapping of these countries was carried out not only via desk research and collecting mapping data from annual membership survey, but also via country visits to Romania, Ukraine, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, online training and webinars, as well as an online ‘join us’ application function on the website, and attendance and networking at various conferences and meetings. The target mapped countries in 2016 included Romania and Bulgaria, in order to strengthen TBEC’s understanding of transition process from donor to national funding of TB and HIV diagnostics, treatment and prevention programmes in upcoming years in both countries. The civil society mapping in Romania and Bulgaria also provided better understanding of key civil society issues, working on TB, ahead of the Bulgarian EU presidency in 2018. In addition, the five countries of Central Asia (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan), the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia) and the Russian Federation, Belarus, Moldova were also the focus of mapping activities, especially in view of the Union’s regional conference (Europe region) in Bratislava, in June 2016. Mapping data have been disseminated with our members and have been made available on the website for all members and wider public interested in TB and issues related to TB. Mapping data are updated regularly on quarterly basis to ensure reliability of the data.

The Secretariat of the network produced and disseminated a monthly email newsletter to the entire membership (in both English and Russian, to adequately provide for all members). These newsletters are archived and publicly available on the TBEC website.

In addition, in 2016 TBEC also published the annual thematic report “How to leverage European Union funding for health in Eastern Europe and Central Asia” and a position paper “Transitioning from donor support HIV and TB programmes in Eastern Europe and Central Asia: challenges and effective solutions”. Both thematic report and policy paper intend to address various issues regarding transition process in middle-income countries that will experience withdrawal of international donor funding on TB and HIV in the upcoming years. The policy paper is aimed at international and regional decision-makers and donors, as well as national governments to describe how a rushed transition process can undermine previous achievements in TB diagnostics, treatment and prevention, as in case of Romania. The thematic report is aimed at civil society organisations in the WHO Europe to provide more information of various EU funding opportunities that can be used to alleviate the transition process and low levels of the national funding. Both thematic report and policy paper were translated in Russian that was highly appreciated by civil society in the European region, including Baltic countries and Bulgaria.

The TBEC Secretariat continued to update the website throughout the year, and extensively used the TBEC online calendar, map of civil society organisations, case studies page, newsletter archive and blog. The membership and resources pages have been updated regularly. The patients’ stories, case studies sections and any announcements relating to governance were published on the website, social media and via listserve, when became available and relevant.

During the year 2016, TBEC Secretariat also delivered two webinar trainings (in both – RU and EN languages): the first webinar focused on access to the EU funding and was based on thematic report; the second webinar focused on Global TB Caucus and engagement with the national members of parliament, providing encouragement and practical advice to the civil society on how to achieve necessary political change in national TB policies.

In May 2016 (8-13) TBEC organised a country visit to one of the priority countri

In 2016 TBEC continued to strengthen its position as a key civil society network, working on TB issues in EECA region. The continuous financial support from the EC allowed TBEC Secretariat and Steering Committee members to actively engage with various international and regional stakeholders such as Eurasian Harm Reduction Network, the Union, International AIDS and TB conferences, WHO Europe Regional Collaborative Committee on TB Control and Care and various EU institutions. However, the key achievements this year was: first of all, establishment of TB People – a Russian-speaking network of TB survivors that with TBEC support successfully convened in Bratislava alongside Union’s regional conference; secondly, participation in the TB REP project (TB in Eastern Europe and Central Asia on Strengthening Health Systems for Effective TB and DR-TB Control) which is implemented with the financial support of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia through 2016-2018. With the primary recipient of the Global Fund being PAS Centre, Moldova, and under the technical leadership of WHO EURO a wide range of partners are involved in the TB-REP project implementation. TBEC, with international charitable foundation “Alliance for Public Health” (Ukraine), as a technical implementer is responsible for supporting the civil society organizations in their grass-root advocacy efforts in the TB-REP countries through capacity development, progress monitoring and information exchange.

Throughout the year, TBEC continued the effective engagement with EU, WHO and Global Fund on shaping TB policy, including transition, ambulatory care and antimicrobial resistance through participation in meetings and conferences, as well as publishing policy reports. Furthermore, TBEC Secretariat members continued to chair the WHO Regional Collaborative Committee (RCC) on TB, continuously increasing collaboration with WHO Europe and other technical partners. TBEC has also closely worked with the Global TB Caucus in order to strengthen ties between the CSOs and the parliamentarians, who are part of Global TB Caucus in EECA region.

Since January 2016, TBEC has:

Published 50 blog articles and 12 newsletters in both languages, and witnessed increased use and interaction from members of TBEC listserve and social media accounts. (target: 12 newsletters)

Facebook page, with 314 permanent followers, with 189 engaged users and total reach of 1688 people. The Secretariat also tweeted on average 11 tweets per month, has 497 followers, and experienced 74% increase in the number of followers throughout the year. (target: Twitter followers – 300; Facebook followers – 300, Average reach of network posts – 150 per month);

Produced a mapping report of 30 target countries in the EU, in order to provide information about civil society stakeholders working in specific country contexts. (target: 15 countries each year)

Reached 53% of WHO European Region countries that are represented within the TBEC network. This has been shared with the membership on the website. (target: 80%)

Published the annual thematic report “How to leverage European Union funding for health in Eastern Europe and Central Asia” and a position paper “Transitioning from donor support HIV and TB programmes in Eastern Europe and Central Asia: challenges and effective solutions”;

Delivered two webinar trainings (in both – RU and EN languages): the first webinar focused on access to the EU funding and was based on thematic report; the second webinar focused on Global TB Caucus and engagement with the national members of parliament (target: 2)

Produced promotional materials (leaflets, banners) that contribute to increase TBEC visibility at conferences, workshops, and meetings; help to provide more information on TBEC work; and promote TBEC activities.
Improved the TBEC website with regular updates with upcoming events, news stories and policy reports in EN and RU.

Facilitated an advocacy workshop (17 participants) and meetings with stakeholders and decision makers in Romania, as part of TBEC series of country visits and national advocacy workshops for local civil society. (target: 10 participants, 3 collaborative relationships established);

Participated in the Union Regional (Europe) Conference on Tuberculosis and Lung Health in Bratislava, and convened the founding conference of TB People, the first Russian speaking network of TB survivors and their family members; (target: 4 meetings);

Participated in the 48th Union World Conference on Tuberculosis and Lung Health in Liverpool and supported 3 civil society representatives to attend the conference and participate in community space activities, discussions and forums; (target: 4 meetings);

Conducted an advocacy tour, brought Bulgarian TB advocate to Brussels to meet with EU decision-makers;

Organised Annual Steering Committee meeting (12 out of 16 participated, with 5 observers present) and produced the report (target: 80% attendance at Steering Committee meeting);

Conducted Annual Member Survey, with 73% believing that TBEC represents Civil Society Organisations across the region (target: 73%);

Further improved membership outreach and strengthened the Secretariat;

The work programme activities and outcomes were disseminated across the network’s communication channels to ensure broad public exposure and increase levels of awareness of both the issue and the network’s role in the response. These channels include the TBEC newsletter, listserve, social media – Facebook and Twitter, and the website in both English and Russian, to ensure maximum accessibility for target groups across the region. In addition, hard copies of promotional materials were distributed to Secretariats in London, Brussels and Kiev, Steering Committee members and key stakeholders across the region during conferences, meetings, workshops, etc. The resource on engagement with members of national parliaments was also distributed amongst Global TB Caucus members around the world as the best practice example.

The website, social media and listserve

The TBEC website in EN and RU was further improved in 2016, and now functions as a hub for the network members to strengthen regional and national networking, information sharing and to enhance the use of best practice. Country mapping and the dissemination of information served to strengthen the understanding of civil society concerns, activities and the potential opportunities for collaboration between stakeholders. The dissemination of majority of information on the website was in two languages: in English and Russian.

Electronic versions of the TBEC Steering Committee annual meeting report, TBEC Annual Report, TBEC Thematic Report, TBEC Policy Paper and TBEC resource on Parliamentary Engagement are published on the website, distributed via TBEC member Google listserve and social media, as well as mailed to the Secretariats in Brussels and Kiev to reach out to larger pool of members in order to strengthen their awareness of actions at EU and regional levels that have significant relevance to their work at national level. All the reports have been translated in RU, with exception of TBEC SC Committee annual meeting report, where to Executive Summary was translated in RU.

Complementary to these reports, the website hosted case studies, funding opportunities, technical assistance programmes, a calendar of events and other information to support members’ advocacy in response to the TB epidemic.

The TBEC logo and the emblem of the EU/CHAFEA 3rd Health Programme with disclaimer have been visible on all reports publicly disseminated by the network. These have been presented on the TBEC website and newsletters to ensure maximum visibility and recognition of support.

The implementation of the work programme was monitored throughout the year, with monitoring data gathered monthly. The internal monitoring data reports were shared with the Steering Committee regularly. Qualitative data were gathered through evaluation questionnaires, de-briefings after meetings, and annual survey to measure outcome.

The evaluation was focused on assessing the effective completion of the activities, the production of the deliverables included in the activity plan and the achievement of the proposed targets. It included participants’ evaluations, conducted to determine the impact of specific activities for 2016 - Survey, specific evaluations was carried out for both the advocacy training with national CSOs and for other events organised during the country visit. Participants of these events were asked to complete a questionnaire and give feedback on the quality, effectiveness, relevance and likely impact of the activities and make improvements to content as necessary. The questioners and de-briefings were mainly used for the workshop/training participants and the annual survey targeted all TBEC members.

Survey results:
- The TBEC survey had 44 participants (21 in RU and 23 in EN), which is around 10% of all TBEC members. The main countries represented included Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Romania, which coincide with recent TBEC country visits.
- 65% of TBEC members, who partic