On October 17, 2005, at the TB Alliance’s Annual Stakeholders Association Meeting in Paris, members approved the addition of four new organizations to the official Stakeholders Association. The organizations are the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GBC), the Treatment Action Group (TAG), and the Tropical Disease Foundation (TDF).
“We are pleased to have the support of these four outstanding organizations,” said Dr. Maria C. Freire, President & CEO of the TB Alliance. “Their respective contributions to the field of global health have been integral to the fight against diseases such as TB. Their participation and counsel will be a great asset as we continue our drive to find shorter and better cures for TB.”
The Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC)
BRAC works with people whose lives are dominated by extreme poverty, illiteracy, disease and other handicaps. With multifaceted development interventions, BRAC strives to bring about positive changes in the quality of life for the poor in Bangladesh. Although the emphasis of BRAC’s work is at the individual level, sustaining the work of the organization depends on an environment that permits the poor to break out of the cycle of poverty and hopelessness. To this end, BRAC endeavors to bring about change at the level of national and global policy on poverty reduction and social progress. In order to achieve its goal, wherever necessary, BRAC welcomes partnerships with the community, like-minded organizations, governmental institutions, the private sector and development partners both at home and abroad.
Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GBC)
GBC leads the business community’s fight against HIV/AIDS. They seek to harness the individual and collective power of the world’s top corporations to fight the spread of AIDS at the local, national and international levels. Working across four continents, they have built a broad global network that includes hundreds of member companies. Teams at GBC assist member companies in the design and development of specialized programs that leverage a company’s assets, business skills, and networks to tailor a unique response to the HIV/AIDS crisis. They identify and disseminate models of good business practice, and they provide technical expertise where and when it’s needed most. They also stimulate shared-learning around the globe to encourage greater action and efficacy across the entire international business community.
Treatment Action Group (TAG)
Founded in January1992, TAG is the first and only organization dedicated solely to advocating for larger and more efficient research efforts, towards finding a cure for AIDS. TAG is working to ensure that all people living with HIV receive the necessary treatment, care, and information needed to save their lives. TAG meets with researchers, pharmaceutical companies, and government officials to encourage the exploration of understudied areas in AIDS research and to speed up drug development, approval, and access. They work with the World Health Organization and community organizations globally, and strive to develop the scientific and political expertise needed to transform policy. TAG is committed to working for and with all communities affected by HIV.
The Tropical Disease Foundation (TDF)
TDF is a private, non-profit organization founded in 1984 that seeks to control and prevent the spread of infectious diseases through research, training and the provision of timely and relevant services. Tuberculosis is TDF’s main focus with an emphasis on the control of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) through DOTS-Plus. Their aim is to diminish the prevalence and incidence of TB by half by 2010, in collaboration with the National TB Program of the Department of Health. They conduct clinical, operational, and laboratory-based research on infectious diseases, and enter into partnerships with public and private agencies at the national and international level. TDF runs the only DOTS-Plus pilot project in Asia, which serves as a national and international training center for MDR-TB management. TDF is also the principal recipient of the Global Fund in the Philippines.