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International Resources


Where We Work

The Francis J. Curry National Tuberculosis Center (CNTC) provides curriculum development and training, educational products, medical consultation, research, and health systems strengthening technical assistance within the USA and internationally.

Under the leadership of Dr. Philip Hopewell, and in partnership with the American Thoracic Society (ATS), UCSF/CNTC provides ongoing technical assistance to five pilot countries (Kenya, Tanzania, India, Indonesia, and Mexico) to promote the development of national tuberculosis programmes through implementation of the International Standards for Tuberculosis Care (ISTC; see more below). A particular emphasis of the ISTC is the development of private-public and public-public mix (PPM).

UCSF/CNTC is providing support to Tanzania to develop an MDR TB treatment and training facility through funding from the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

UCSF/CNTC, with support from ATS, has participated in World Health Organization (WHO) reviews of national tuberculosis programmes in Indonesia, Nepal, and Thailand. A focus of this technical assistance has been health systems strengthening, planning, financing, and budgeting.

CNTC provides TB technical assistance to the International Training and Education Center on HIV/AIDS (ITECH), which is a partnership between the University of Washington (UW) and UCSF's Pacific AIDS Education Training Center. We are currently helping local institutions in the English-speaking countries of the Caribbean develop a TB programme manual, TB and TB/HIV curriculum and training, and onsite technical assistance. CNTC has also supported ITECH's TB/HIV training in Namibia and Botswana.

UCSF/CNTC also provides systematic reviews of TB research for WHO and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

CNTC continues to provide ongoing technical assistance, training, and medical consultation for the US Pacific Islands Trust Territories, Mexico, and Taiwan.


International Standards for Tuberculosis Care

Developed by the Tuberculosis Coalition for Technical Assistance (TBCTA) with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Standards describe a widely accepted level of care that all practitioners, public and private, should seek to achieve in managing patients who have, or are suspected of having, tuberculosis. The Standards are intended to facilitate the effective engagement of all care providers in delivering high-quality care for patients of all ages.

ISTC Website

Download English version (PDF, 2.0 MB)

Download French version (PDF, 2.0 MB)

Download Spanish version (PDF, 2.0 MB)


The Patients' Charter for Tuberculosis Care

Developed by the World Care Council in tandem with the International Standards for Tuberculosis Care, The Charter outlines the rights and responsibilities of people with tuberculosis. It empowers people with the disease and their communities through this knowledge. Initiated and developed by patients from around the world, The Charter makes the relationship with healthcare providers a mutually beneficial one.

Download English version (PDF, 1.0 MB)

Download Spanish version (PDF, 1.0 MB)


ISTC Handbook and ISTC Training Modules (in development)

Under the leadership of CNTC's co-Principal Investigator, Dr. Philip Hopewell, UCSF/CNTC and the American Thoracic Society are working with five countries (Kenya, Tanzania, India, Indonesia, and Mexico) to develop the next implementation phase of the International Standards for Tuberculosis Care (ISTC).

The emphasis of the ISTC and The Charter is on care, more specifically patient-centered care, and serves as a complementary yet new approach to TB prevention, diagnosis, treatment, education, and management. The next phase involves the creation of an ISTC Handbook (The Handbook), and ISTC Training Modules that will provide guidance and tools to assist national TB programs and other public and private TB providers to effectively adapt the Standards to country-specific needs.

Guidelines, Statements & Standards on Tuberculosis (version 8)

Compiled by Madhukar Pai and Philip Hopewell, SFGH, University of California, San Francisco, February 2005.

Download guidelines (PDF, 79 KB)