Best practices in prevention, control and care for drug-resistant tuberculosis: a resource for the continued implementation of the Consolidated Action Plan to Prevent and Combat Multidrug- and Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in the WHO European Region, 2011–2015

The WHO European Region has the highest proportion of multidrug- and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (M/XDR-TB) patients in the world. The Consolidated Action Plan to Prevent and Combat Multidrug- and Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in the WHO European Region, 2011–2015 was developed in 2011 and in the two years since then much progress has been made in implementing it, but critical challenges also remain. To improve the transfer of knowledge and experiences between countries in the European Region, and to help in improving the health system approach, the WHO Regional Office for Europe launched an initiative to collect examples of best practices in M/XDR-TB prevention, control and care. An expert committee evaluated all the practices submitted, for which there was enough information, against defined selection criteria. With examples from nearly half the countries of the Region, this compendium is an invaluable resource for stakeholders at all levels of the health system in the continued implementation of the Consolidated Action Plan.