of the International Conference of Experts from Russia and ASEAN Member States

ORGANIZED BY

PROGRAM
of the International Conference
of Experts from Russia and ASEAN Member States

“Improving the System Interaction and Exchange of Experience in Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention of Tuberculosis (TB)”

November 16-17, 2020

Recommendation

of the International Conference of Experts
from the ASEAN Member States and the Russian Federation
«Improving the System of Interaction and Exchange of Experience in the Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention of Tuberculosis»

November 16-17, 2020

Videoconferencing

We, the participants from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) Member States, namely, Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Republic of the Union Myanmar, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, and the Russian Federation along with the World Health Organization, at the International Conference of Experts from the ASEAN Member States
and the Russian Federation «Improving the system of interaction and exchange
of experience in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of TB» (hereinafter –
the Conference) was held on November 16-17, 2020 by videoconferencing.

The conference participants stated that currently, despite the efforts
of the international community, TB claims more people lives than any other infectious disease worldwide, causing death of more than five thousand children, women and men everyday[1]. This disease is the leading cause of death in the working-age population posing
a serious threat to social and economic security.

The issue of tuberculosis is getting more complicated with the development and spread of Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) bacteria strains that are responsible for one third of all deaths related to antimicrobial resistance (AMR)[2]. According to the data of WHO, in 2016 8,5% of all MDR-TB cases also had XDR-TB[3].

TB is the leading cause of death for people infected with HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS affect the development of TB, leading to a decrease in the immune status
of the infected persons and the progression of the disease. Worldwide, tuberculosis is the most dangerous co-infection at the AIDS stage.

In 2020 the world was swept by the COVID-19 pandemic and claimed a large number of lives around the world. COVID-19 increases the likelihood of severe TB
and the development of lung failure. Moreover, COVID-19 has posed an extremely serious challenge of the provision of undisrupted healthcare and medical services to TB patients
in the circumstances of the pandemic.

TB is widely spread in all parts of the world, with the highest number of cases reported in Asia (45% of new cases). Countries participating in the Meeting – Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, the Russian Federation and Viet Nam – remain among the 30 countries with the highest TB burden.

In 2017 the First WHO Global Ministerial Conference on Ending TB in the Sustainable Development Era: A Multisectoral Response organized by WHO together with the Government of the Russian Federation and the Moscow Declaration to End TB was adopted. One of 4 areas for action defined in the Moscow declaration is “Pursuing science, research and innovation”.

The participants of the International Conference of Experts from the ASEAN member countries and the Russian Federation considered that to achieve the global goals to end TB, it is necessary to create more effective tools and innovative approaches for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease. They discussed the current issues of the epidemiological situation with TB, MDR-TB and XDR-TB in the ASEAN countries and the Russian Federation, modern approaches and technologies in diagnosis, treatment and prevention of TB, HIV and TB co-infection as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the detection and treatment of TB.

The Conference participants confirmed their intention to make active efforts to end
the TB epidemic by 2030, as stipulated by the UN and the WHO: the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 and The Global Plan to End TB 2016–2020
and recommend that the professional medical communities of the ASEAN countries and the Russian Federation should:

1. Build the regional capacity of the ASEAN countries and the Russian Federation to fight TB in order to expand multidisciplinary research and innovation
in the field of TB, as well as applied health research, by creating and/or improving national research programs on TB;

2. Improve the coordination of research activities between the ASEAN countries
and the Russian Federation on national and global scale to ensure the rapid implementation of the knowledge gained in the form of practical measures, including through the creation
of appropriate program mechanisms and the implementation of new medical technologies align with WHO policies, guidelines and recommendation;

3. Support the exchange of up-to-date knowledge and create conditions for the organization of resident and non- resident training of medical staff of Russia-ASEAN cooperation along with scientific and clinical work, including the use of telemedicine technologies;

4. Continue to work on the developing of common, advanced approaches
to prevention, diagnosis and treatment of TB with reference to WHO guidelines;

5. Implement measures aimed at minimizing the risk of developing
and spreading of MDR-TB and XDR-TB strains based on the experience of the ASEAN countries and the Russian Federation;

6. Reduce the risks associated with TB and HIV coinfection and support
the undisrupted healthcare and medical services provision in the circumstances
of COVID-19 pandemic.

The Conference participants stated that effective TB control measures require
a global, regional and cross-border coordination, taking into account the specific characteristics of the ASEAN countries and the Russian Federation, involving multisectoral actions with a large number of stakeholders.

The participants agreed that the International Conference of Experts from the ASEAN countries and the Russian Federation «Improving the system of interaction and exchange
of experience in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of TB”, proposed
by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, is a major milestone on the way
to fruitful cooperation between the Russian and ASEAN medical and healthcare community
in the field of TB control.

Ссылки на запись конференции на канале YouTube:

1 день:
https://youtu.be/1btSsLVh5bU
2 день:
https://youtu.be/CNCICDzAM4g