ABOUT US

We believe that change is possible

WE BELIEVE IN CHANGE

WHAT WE BELIEVE IN

Our vision: a world free of TB.

Our mission: civil society driving the TB response.

TBEC maintains a commitment to the following core values:

Empowerment: TBEC believes that people’s needs should be at the centre of any TB decision-making. As such TBEC seeks to empower civil society and TB affected communities to actively participate in the TB response.

Human rights based approach to TB: A human rights-based approach to TB prioritises the dignity and autonomy of all people with TB. TBEC is committed to promoting and defending the rights of TB affected people.

Equality & Social Justice: TBEC holds to the principles of promoting and defending health equality, with special focus given to engaging and empowering vulnerable and marginalised groups in TB affected communities.

Independence, Transparency and Accountability: TBEC only accepts funding from donors whose objectives are in line with its vision and core value. Furthermore, TBEC maintains a policy of transparency and disclosure for its beneficiaries, donors, and partners.

HISTORY

TBEC was formed by a group of engaged TB advocates in 2009 and registered as a legal entity in 2017. The consistent increase of already high rates of drug-resistant TB (DR-TB), coupled with limited funding and low awareness among general populations and policy makers in the region, called for urgent action. However, the limited capacity, knowledge and skills of civil society organisations and advocates working on TB meant that there were few organisations and individuals capable of successfully advocating for TB on a national and regional level. Acknowledging their common causes, and recognising the importance of an effective civil society, TBEC was formed to bring organisations and individuals together. Over the following years, TBEC expanded through online communication via the TBEC website and listserve, active networking at international and regional conferences and regular country visit. In 2014, TBEC obtained a multi-annual grant from the European Commission’s Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency under the 3rd EU Health Programme. This grant allowed the strengthening of the network’s operational capacity and substantially expanded TBEC’s outreach activities. Since 2016, TBEC is a formal partner of the TB REP project supported by the Global Fund aimed at supporting civil society organisations in their grassroots advocacy efforts in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

WHAT WE DO

TB is the world’s leading infectious killer and in the WHO European region alone, there were an estimated 32 000 deaths from tuberculosis (TB) and approximately 323 000 new cases in 2015. This means that every day, about 900 people become sick with TB. Furthermore, the region has the highest rates of MDR-TB and the lowest treatment success rates in the world. Nevertheless, despite the urgent need to combat the epidemic, TB has remained low on the global political agenda, failing to receive the attention and resources it requires.

Since its launch in 2009, TBEC aims to address the gaps by bringing together civil society representatives (individuals and organisations) from across the region in order to strengthen the role of civil society within the regional response to TB, and to increase the political and financial commitment required to effectively control the epidemic. With more than 440 members in 42 countries, TBEC is increasingly recognised as the voice of TB-interested civil society across the WHO Europe Region.

TBEC works twofold: first, to strengthen the advocacy capacity of civil society organisations and activists at national level, and second, to coordinate and carry out evidence-based TB policy advocacy at regional and international level. With TBEC entering a new stage in its development, the coalition adopted a new Strategy for the years 2024-2027, which outlines our mission, vision and the two main outcomes TBEC wish to achieve over the next four years:

Our vision: a world free of TB.

Our mission: civil society driving the TB response.

Outcome 1: TBEC to be recognized as a reliable and accountable network/platform for organisations working on TB in Europe

Outcome 2: TBEC members have the capacity and skills to effectively influence policies and provide evidence-based service delivery

Outcome 3: TBEC to support the integration of a human rights approach to national TB responses

TBEC operates under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International (CC BY_SA 4.0) licence. This means that you can share and adapt our content, but you have to credit TBEC and state what changes you have made.

MEMBERSHIP

As of January 2024, TBEC has 440 members, including individuals and civil society organisations from more than 42 countries in the region. Membership is open and free of charge to all individuals and civil society organisations within the WHO Europe Region working to end the TB epidemic. New members confirm their alignment with TBEC’s values upon joining the network.

If you would like to become a member of TBEC, please contact us at coordinator@tbcoalition.eu or click on JOIN US button.

POLICIES

If you would like more information on our values, please see the following policies:

TBEC Position Statement of Transparency

TBEC Privacy Policy

TBEC Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws

TBEC Governance Framework

TBEC operates under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International (CC BY_SA 4.0) licence . This means that you can share and adapt our content, but you have to credit TBEC and state what changes you have made.

PROJECTS

REPORTS

WHO WE ARE

TBEC is registered as a legal entity (Stichtung) in the Netherlands. Our Registration number with the regulator (Kammer van Koophandel) is 70263299 and our Dutch tax identification (RSIN) number is 858222565. Please find TBEC Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws.

TBEC is governed by two key bodies: the Board and an Oversight Advisory Committee. The Board is TBEC’s highest governing authority and is legally liable for the work of TBEC. It provides strategic, operational and financial oversight of the implementation of TBEC’s strategy. The Oversight Advisory Committee provides strategic advice to the Board on organisational development, strategy, governance, policy and finance. You can read more about TBEC governance framework.

As an independent entity, TBEC runs a Secretariat with eight team members based in Kyiv, Ukraine. The Secretariat is responsible for the coordination, communication, administration and management of the network. The role of the Secretariat is to ensure that the network’s work programme is successfully implemented and to ensure that TBEC Board and Secretariat’s operations are transparent and efficient.

BOARD

All Members of the Board are elected from the membership of TBEC. They act in a personal and voluntary capacity. They are not remunerated for their work as Board members.

Paul Sommerfeld, Chair of TBEC Board

Paul Sommerfeld has been Chair of TBEC since September 2019, having been involved with the Coalition since its creation. In his early years, he led on building links between activists in Western Europe and those in the East. Then, using his original career skills in facilitation, he led numerous advocacy and capacity-building workshops for TBEC across Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Paul has been deeply involved in global health for over 30 years – first leprosy, then TB, and also influenza; with a focus on community engagement, advocacy, and governance.

From 1998 to 2019, he was Chair and is still Executive Trustee, of TB Alert, a United Kingdom-based NGO with programmes in India and the UK. Also, he was once Chair of the then Advocacy, Communication & Social Mobilization Working Group of the global Stop TB Partnership.

He has had a long career in international not-for-profit organisations; and has also held several UK public appointments – Chair of a National Health Service trust for mental health services in two London boroughs, and as a lay member in the regulatory bodies for judges, barristers, osteopaths, and pharmacists.

Yuliya Chorna, Co-Chair of TBEC Board

Yuliya has extensive work experience in the global health policy and practice, including senior leadership positions for not-for-profit NGOs focused on social equity and rights in the fields of tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS in Ukraine, Eastern Europe & Central Asia region. She was a part of the TB Europe Coalition’s steering group in 2016-2018 and has been leading TBEC Secretariat in 2018-2020. During 2019-2023 she served on the WHO Civil Society Taskforce for TB.

Yuliya has a master’s degree in social work from Syracuse University. Currently, she continues her education as a doctoral student in York University’s Graduate Program in Social Anthropology. She is also a member of the Social Science and Health Innovations Network for Tuberculosis at the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research. Her research problematizes how TB is being addressed on a global level, using critical methods and lenses of medical anthropology.

Jonathan Stillo, Vice-Chair of the TBEC Board

Dr. Jonathan Stillo is an Assistant Professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. He teaches medical anthropology and public health.  He has been part of the leadership of TB Europe Coalition since 2012 and a member of the Global TB Community Advisory Board since 2013. He is currently the Coordinator of the WHO EURO/Wolfheze Patient-Centred TB Care Working Group.

Jonathan has received research grants from the US National Science Foundation, The US Department of State, among others, and has consulted for WHO, ECDC, and the US Embassy in Bucharest.  Jonathan has been researching tuberculosis (TB) in Romania since 2006—including living at a TB sanatorium for several months and interviewing hundreds of patients and medical personnel across the country. His current research and advocacy focus is on social, economic, and structural barriers to health and how better outcomes can be achieved for people with drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) using person-centered, human rights-based approaches.

Stefan Radut, Vice-Chair of TBEC Board

Stefan Radut is from Bucharest, Romania. In 2011, he started to get involved in ASPTMR, a young MDR TB patient’s organization at that time. He came across TBEC in 2012, when he heard the word “advocacy” for the first time. At that moment, he understood that advocacy was one of the ways to solve the MDR TB and TB problems in Romania and across the region. Now, nine years and four advocacy workshops later, three of which were conducted by TBEC, he is engaged in advocacy in Romania. He was involved in drafting the National Strategy for Tuberculosis Control, and in the development of the Draft Romanian TB Law. He is involved in advocacy efforts for approval of the Romanian TB Law. He is a member of the Romanian CCM and represents Romania in SEE Regional Coordination Mechanism. He is Vice-president of COPAC-Romania (Coalition of Organizations of Patients with Chronic Diseases from Romania). He is also a Vice-Chair of TBEC Board and a member of TB People. Since December 2017, he has been a member of the National Committee for Coordination of the Implementation of the National Strategy for Tuberculosis Control in Romania 2015-2020.

In 2017, he was on an Exchange Program for NGO leaders focused on working with the marginal population and he spent 3 weeks in the U.S.A. meeting many US Government and NGO representatives. Stefan’s organization, ASPTMR, holds 1-2 advocacy events a year.

Kira Grozava

Kira has more than 20 years of background spanning both public and private sectors. She has started her career in the NGO sector more than 15 years ago notably spearheading the launch of the Regional Technical Support Hub hosted by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance.

With an academic foundation in economics and finance Kira served as the program manager for TBEC from 2021 to 2023, gaining a deep understanding of the organization's mission and operations. Her nearly three-year tenure with the TBEC Secretariat team has equipped her with unique insights into partnership-building across diverse sectors and navigating the complexities of procedures and policies of various donor organizations. Her work often involves navigating complex challenges with sensitivity and diligence.

Currently residing in Belgium, Kira is fluent in Dutch and brings her diverse skill set to further strengthen TBEC's impact in the region.

Cristina Enache

A member of TBEC since 2012, Cristina has been working for the Romanian Angel Appeal Foundation in Bucharest since 2009. Since 2017 she has been the Advocacy Officer in charge of driving TB and HIV-related legislative and policy changes. For the past 4 years, she has been advocating for the adoption of the TB Bill by Parliament, a long and challenging legislative process.

Cristina is involved in the TB and HIV advocacy campaign, which started in April 2017 under the 2015–2018 Global Fund grant and will continue until 2021.

She has helped coordinate and implement activities such as the Alert Report “The Crisis of Anti-TB Medicines in Romania” developed in collaboration with the Romanian Health Observatory and the media campaign.. She has contributed to the advocacy campaign awareness component on Facebook Stop TB Romania page: https://www.facebook.com/ParteneriatulStopTB/  and advocated for the 2019-2021 HIV/AIDS National Strategic Plan to be approved by the Government.

Daniel Kashnitsky

Daniel works as an Academic Relations Coordinator at the Regional Expert Group on Migration and Health. He is also a Junior Researcher at the Institute of Social Policy, Higher School of Economics, based in Moscow. Daniel has an MPH degree from Lund University, Sweden. Since 2006, he has been working in public health organizations across the EECA region. Daniel’s main areas of expertise are program management, budget advocacy, qualitative research, the health of mobile populations, and a people-centered approach to HIV and TB care. As a researcher, he believes in the nexus between the evidence base and stronger advocacy. He has worked for TBEC for 1.5 years and enjoyed this period much. Daniel believes in communities rather than in organizations. But as we need committed organizations to lead the change and structure the work, he is glad to contribute his expertise to a better work of the TBEC board.

Denis Godlevskiy

Denis started his career in an NGO which was helping to re-socialize people after detention and providing rehabilitation, care, and counseling for people who use chemical substances. In 2013-2018, Denis worked as an advocacy manager and later, Advocacy Director for the European Bureau of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. He coordinated marketing and advocacy activities in 7 countries of Europe where the Foundation had its programs (Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Lithuania, Greece, Portugal, Netherlands). Currently, Denis works as a regional coordinator of the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition in EECA.

Denis graduated from Moscow Institute of Law and Management with a specialty in “State and municipal management” in 2016.

Denis sees the role of the Board member on one hand as supportive to the management of the organization in the development of long-term strategy, planning and financial well-being of an organization. Denis is a TB survivor.

Cristina Celan

A project management public health professional, with 13-year experience in TB programs management and positions in projects funded by the Global Fund, Stop TB Partnership and other entities in Moldova and EECA region. Directly responsible for coordination and grant management of the civil society component, both in regional and TB national grant. As part of the EECA TB regional grant, Cristina was involved in building a regional presence of TB activists and provided support to the regional movement leading to TB People being established as an informal network then legal entity, and also provided support to TB community groups at country level. She provided technical support and capacity building to local community centers on adherence of treatment support for TB patients; closely works with civil society organizations to enhance support for community-based treatment of TB; designs and implements advocacy, communication and social mobilization activities; carry out training sessions for implementing partners and sub-recipients.

Oxana Rucsineanu

Oxana Rucsineanu is currently leading a TB organization in Moldova (SMIT), which focuses on TB advocacy, engages in active case finding (ACF), provides psychosocial support, peer education, and activities to end stigma. Becoming a TB activist, after having gone through the personal experience of drug-resistant tuberculosis, she is now an active member of the National Platforms of TB NGOs and KAP (Key Affected Population) Committee, CCM, and National Committee of Experts in the country. Internationally, Oxana is engaged in TBEC, CABs STREAM, GCTA, TB CAB, TB People, and RCC-THV and SEE-RCN networks. Since 2011, Oxana has coordinated several projects focusing on the rights of TB communities, comprehensive approaches to ACF, TB care, and CE in R&D. Oxana is strongly committed to advocating for constructive partnerships and efficient TB care as well as to making TB voices heard in the global TB response.

Oleksandra Denysenko

Oleksandra Denysenko has been working in the non-governmental sector since 2016 and has expertise in planning and implementing public health programs.

Her focus has been on overcoming tuberculosis since 2018, and she stood at the origins of the establishment and launch of the TB community in Ukraine. This position has endowed Oleksandra with an in-depth understanding of the national epidemic's intricacies, allowing me to navigate the complexities of the TB landscape with a nuanced perspective. Her commitment to addressing tuberculosis extends beyond borders, as Oleksandra actively engage with and seek inspiration from international efforts to combat this global health challenge. Her specific interest lies in the experiences of EECA countries, where Oleksandra closely monitor initiatives and interventions aimed at tuberculosis prevention and control.

Since 2024, Oleksandra Denysenko has been the executive director of TBPeopleUkraine, which brings together people affected by TB and those striving to overcome tuberculosis.

Bakyt Myrzaliev

Dr. Myrzaliev is a public health professional with 19 years of experience in TB, holding key management roles such as Deputy General Director and Head of the National Reference Lab at the National TB Center in Kyrgyzstan. He directed the USAID-funded TB CARE I and Challenge TB programs from 2011 to 2019 and currently represents KNCV in the Kyrgyz Republic. His notable contributions include scaling up MDR-TB treatment regimens and introducing advanced sequencing technology. He holds an M.D. in General Medicine and a Ph.D. in TB Diagnostics from Kyrgyz State Medical Academy.

Dr. Myrzaliev's career is marked by his leadership in planning and implementing national and international TB initiatives, significantly improving treatment success rates and reducing patient loss to follow-up. He has collaborated with various stakeholders, including USAID, the Ministry of Health, and international partners, to enhance TB control measures. Additionally, he serves as Academic Secretary of the National Center for Phthisiology's Dissertation Council and as an assistant at the Kyrgyz State Medical Academy, where he updates study programs and teaches foreign students. His extensive research and technical support efforts have made him a leading TB expert in Kyrgyzstan.

SECRETARIAT

Yuliia Kalancha, TBEC Executive Director

Yuliia Kalancha joined TBEC team as an Advocacy and Policy Manager in February 2019 to support TB affected communities and civil society in their advocacy efforts towards people-centered TB care.Yuliia is a specialist in European Union law and has a passion for volunteering. Since 2011 Yuliia has been working in the field of public health and has been involved in the processes related to the widening of access to treatment at the national, regional, and international levels. Before joining TBEC she worked at AIDS Healthcare Foundation in Ukraine as an advocacy/marketing coordinator and as project coordinator for “Healthcarers”. She also dealt with procurement issues at the All-Ukrainian Charitable Organization “All-Ukrainian Network of PLWH” and the Ukrainian CDC. The main areas of Yuliia’s expertise are related to community mobilization and involvement of grassroots communities in the international advocacy on access to essential medicines, creation, development, design, and implementation of advocacy activities and campaigns, as well as monitoring of procurement of drugs and medical appliances. Yuliia took over the duties of TBEC Director in August 2020

Aleksandra Vasylenko, TBEC Communications Manager

Since 2008, Aleksandra Vasylenko has been professionally engaged in communications in the social and medical fields, particularly in those issues where it is possible and needed to influence the change in public opinion and behavior. Aleksandra has proven experience in communication activities in public, private, and non-profit organizations. For the first time, she was involved in communication work in the field of TB control in 2011 within the framework of the Global Fund project “Stop TB in Ukraine”. Later she continued her work at the ICF “Alliance for Public Health”, on behalf of TBEC which was a partner in the TB-REP project. This experience provided an opportunity not only to expand knowledge about the problem of the disease in the EECA region but also to get acquainted with national aspects and approaches in TB control, to promote the exchange of useful information among CSOs in the countries of the region and to study in detail the best practices of implementing people-centered approaches. In addition, Aleksandra Vasylenko has been responsible for coordinating the 4-years activities of the inter-factional deputy association “Parliament Platform to Fight Tuberculosis” in Ukraine since its establishment in 2017. In the course of her work in the field of TB control, Ms. Vasylenko has continually interacted with TBEC and since June 2020, as a Communications Consultant, she had the opportunity to directly participate in the work of the Coalition. Since August 2020, Aleksandra joined the TBEC team as a PR Manager.

Katya Solovjova, TBEC Finance Manager

Katya Solovjova joined the TBEC team in July 2022 as a financial consultant. She has experience in the field of accounting and finance since 2008. Her first work experience involved conducting audits in both the private and public sectors, as well as providing consulting services to businesses regarding accounting matters.

Since 2017, she has been working in the healthcare sector as a financial manager. Her responsibilities include budget development, donor engagement, financial reporting preparation, and ensuring proper documentation of procedures.

Vlada Rabinova, TBEC Program Manager

In April 2021, Vlada joined TBEC team. Since 2008 Vlada has been working in the field of public health, specializing in administration, coordination, programmatic and financial reporting within the framework of projects. She participated in the launch, development and implementation of the Regional Technical Support Center for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, during the period of work, more than 10,000 days of technical assistance were provided (2008-2016). She organized and support of major international and regional events (conferences, forums and trainings). She has unique knowledge of business processes in a profitable and unprofitable legal entity. Vlada has a Master’s Degree in International Law, Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University.

Lesya Tonkonog, TBEC Program Manager

Lesya joined TBEC in mid-April 2022. She has been working in the sphere of public health since 2008. She started her career at Alliance for Public Health. Lesya has the extensive experience of administrative and program work at a non-governmental organization and at a profitable organization; more than 6 years of work in the sphere of coordinating different large-scale international and national projects as well as sub-grants. Among the projects she coordinated are the following: IBBS among PWUID and their sexual partners for more than 10 000 respondents in Ukraine (Integrated Bio-Behavioral Survey); the focal point for short technical assistance (the project funded by the GF); The National Monitoring campaign of the Transfer of Ukraine from the Bivalent to Trivalent Vaccine against Poliomyelitis (funded by WHO Ukraine); the survey on Values and preferences regarding HCV self-testing in UKRAINE (funded by FIND); International Training Course “Harm Reduction Academy”; on-line web-resource Help24 where on-line consultations are provided for the representatives of the key groups of Ukraine; organized numerous study visits and brought delegation to Ukraine for experience exchange from many countries, including but not limited to Kenya, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, UK etc. and many other projects. Lesya organized large-scale national and international trainings, workshops, conferences, meetings all over Ukraine and abroad (Kyrgyzstan, Istanbul, Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Kenia, India, Kazakhstan, Sweden etc.) She is actively involved into fundraising process and has understanding of work with many international donors such as CDC, The Global Fund, The Red Cross, WHO, USAID, FIND, Viiv Healthcare, UNAIDS, UNICEF, AIDSfond, EATG and many others. In 2020 successfully completed the Training on Distant Management from Management Center, UK. In 2020 and 2021 successfully completed the courses from the University of Washington – “Project Management in Global Health” and “Fundamentals of Implementation Science”.

Olesya Murha, TBEC Administrative Officer

Olesya joined TBEC team in June 2022. Prior to joining TBEC, she had a diverse experience of work in civil society organizations and the non-profit sector, which was always of a humanitarian nature and was associated with administrative, pedagogical, and volunteering activities. Olesya has experience in organizing events for international organizations and missions in the field of migration management; contributed to numerous study visits, round tables, and conferences in regard to migration management (Pakistan, Moldova, Belarus, Ukraine). She was involved in the monitoring of the detention conditions (provision of medical care, human rights protection, etc.) in places of temporary detention for refugees and migrant accommodation centers. Over the past few years, Olesya has been actively involved in volunteering (teaching children from low-income families of Iranian and Syrian refugees in southern Turkey) and in the educational field in Ukraine (launching a school and working as a teacher). Olesya received a Master’s degree in Administrative Management and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology, National Technical University of Ukraine” I. Sikorsky KPI”, and also she completed a Technology Governance course at the Tallinn Technical University, Estonia.

OVERSIGHT ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Andriy Klepikov, Chair of the OAC

Andriy Klepikov is Executive director of the Alliance for Public Health (APH), one the largest HIV and TB focused NGO in Ukraine and in the entire EECA region. Being its founding director he is currently managing the organization implementing complex and comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment and care program as well as programs aimed at fighting TB, HCV and other deceases. His management portfolio includes nation-wide, regional and global projects.

Andriy has been involved in TBEC activities nearly from the very beginning, representing APH as one of the three anchor organizations had been serving as TBEC secretariat along with Global Health Advocates and RESULTS UK.

Besides serving as Chair of TBEC Oversight Advisory Committee (starting from October 2018), Andriy’s governance role includes Global Fund Board Member representing Developing Country NGO constituency, Member of the International AIDS Society Governing Council, Member of the Stop TB Partnership – Ukraine Coordinating Council, Trustee of PEPAL (UK), Member of the Frontline AIDS (UK) Leadership Advisory Group and Membership Committee.

Timur Abdullaev

Timur Abdullaev is a human rights lawyer and a TB/HIV activist from Uzbekistan. A TB survivor and person living with HIV, he is passionate about mobilizing and strengthening the global movement of people affected by TB while striving to make sure that TB – and TB/HIV co-infection – remain a priority in broader context of public health and universal health coverage.

Timur currently serves as a community representative on Stop TB Partnership’s Coordinating Board and as a Board member of TBPEOPLE, the global network of people affected by TB. Timur continues also his professional career as a human rights and public health consultant, working with a wide range of international development agencies and NGOs.

Patrick Bertrand

Patrick Bertrand has 20 years of experience in advocating for global health. He is the Director and founder of Global Health Advocates France. He is also a founding member of the Action for Global Health Network, a European coalition focused on achieving the health MDGs, consisting of 15 NGOs based in 5 countries.

He is also a founding member of the ACTION Global Health Advocacy Partnership consisting of advocacy organizations working to influence policy and mobilize resources to fight diseases of poverty and improve equitable access to health services.

Patrick is actively involved in various health-related initiatives, including being a member of the Gavi CSO steering committee as well as the selecting committee of the 5 % initiative.

Sharon Ann Lynch

Co-Director, Global Health Policy & Politics Initiative (GHPP), O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University.

Sharonann has worked for 25 years in the global health field committed to innovation of and equitable access to health tools and technologies. She is currently Co-Director of the Center for Global Health Policy and Politics (GHPP) at Georgetown University’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. Previously, Sharonann worked with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) for 15 years, including four years with MSF projects in southern Africa and subsequently as the Senior HIV and TB Policy Advisor, influencing the policies and practices of national governments, donors, industry, and global health actors. Prior to joining MSF, Sharonann was a founding member of Health Global Access Project (GAP) and its Director of International Advocacy. She currently serves on the UNAIDS Advisory Group, Unitaid Board as alternate member for the NGO delegation, and the Boards of Health GAP and TB Europe Coalition (end 2024).

Ganna Dovbakh

Ganna Dovbakh is Executive Director of Eurasian harm reduction Association uniting 342 organisations and activists from 29 countries of Central, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia for a progressive human rights-based drug policy, sustainable funding advocacy, and quality of harm reduction services oriented on needs of people who use drugs. Ganna is originally from Ukraine, have master of art degrees in social psychology and in culture studies. Starting from youth club leadership in 1997 Ganna during years became regional community mobilization expert, gained extensive knowledge in the area of health and social programs, organizing systems of capacity building and knowledge management for civil society.

The important mission of her to help region to overcome totalitarian views on people and social care systems in post-soviet countries and to make health and social support person-centred and based on human rights. Harm reduction need to be such services, which include not only HIV response, but TB prevention, diagnostic and treatment.

Aida Kurtovic

Aida is a Harvard LEAD Fellow, Executive Director at SEE Regional TB and HIV Community Network, The Pandemic Fund Governance Board Member representing CSOs Global South, Member of WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group.

Aida Kurtovic is a global health leader and CSO executive with over two decades of experience in global health, international development, and health program management, with an active engagement with domestic and international stakeholders at the highest levels. Seasoned leader with proven track record of working on complex and politically sensitive issues with governments, academia, private and non-government sector and communities. Knowledgeable about the global and regional health horizons, as well as with the Global Fund, EU and UN architecture, with significant experience at the senior levels in Geneva in leadership of the Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Alex Runswick

Alex is Head of Policy Advocacy at RESULTS UK where she is also the senior management lead for Tuberculosis. She has 20 years of civil society advocacy at local, national and international levels on a wide range of issues including democracy, human rights and anti-corruption. Alex was CEO of a campaigning organisation for 7 years and has served on a wide variety of boards and leadership groups from groups with multi-million pound turnover to Chairing England’s only museum dedicated to women’s history.

Beatrijs Stikkers

Beatrijs Stikkers is a lead advocate and board secretary at KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation, an iNGO with a leading role in embedding innovations and supporting countries in implementation of TB control. She has a background in finance, economics, and health policy. Prior to joining KNCV in 2002, she worked in development finance.

In addition to her membership of TBEC OAC, Beatrijs serves as a Board Member on behalf of the Developed Country NGO Delegation to the Global Fund Board, and is a member of the Friends of the Global Fund Europe.

OUR FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS:

Map of our Member Countries

TBEC has members from across the WHO Europe Region, which includes countries in Central Asia. The following map provides an indication of the spread of our members.

ACTION Italy

Email: fbelli@action.org

STOP TB Italia

Email: stoptbitalia@gmail.com

Medici con l'africa

Email: cuamm@cuamm.org

Emergency

Email: press@emergency.it

Community of Saint Edigio

Email: info@santegidio.org

Osservatorio AIDS

Email: info@osservatorioaids.it