9 Ways PIH Shaped Global Tuberculosis Treatment and Policy
The work of Partners In Health has helped guide advancements in tuberculosis policy and practices for decades.
Posted on Mar 6, 2025
Partners In Health (PIH) has been treating tuberculosis (TB)—the world’s deadliest infectious disease—in impoverished countries since the 90s before many in the United States thought it necessary, or even possible. This important work has served a critical role in proving to policymakers the importance of comprehensive, patient-centered TB treatment.
From inspiration to implementation, PIH has helped shape policy and treatment guidelines that are aimed at eliminating TB worldwide. We compiled a list of some of our biggest wins in TB advocacy below:
2000
Creation of WHO’s Green Light Committee
The Green Light Committee was an early initiative aimed at ensuring patients with drug-resistant forms of TB receive appropriate treatment that will help prevent further drug resistance. PIH helped establish this committee in 2000, alongside other partners like Médecins Sans Frontières and Interactive Research and Development, within the World Health Organization (WHO) to help make treatment for multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) more accessible to patients around the world.
2001
Establishment of the Global Fund
In June 2001, the UN General Assembly endorsed the creation of a global fund to fight HIV/AIDS, drawing inspiration from PIH Co-founder Dr. Paul Farmer’s advocacy and PIH’s work in Haiti. Since then, the Global Fund has provided 76% of all TB international financing and has saved the lives of over 65 million patients with HIV, TB, and malaria.
2002
Shaping the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
In 2002, Farmer was one of four doctors invited to the White House by Dr. Anthony Fauci to present PIH’s outcomes from treating AIDS in rural Haiti, demonstrating that high quality HIV care could be delivered in resource-poor settings. PIH’s work is a key part of evidence that convinced President George W. Bush to announce the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)—a uniquely bi-partisan initiative—which has provided antiretroviral therapy (ART) for 20.5 million people and TB preventive therapy for 13.4 million people on ART. PEPFAR has saved over 25 million lives since its launch in 2003.
2005, 2008, and 2011
PIH Influences WHO MDR-TB Protocols
PIH’s model of care for MDR-TB—and accompanying studies—informed WHO’s 2005, 2008, and 2011 guidelines on the programmatic management of MDR-TB. Farmer and fellow PIH Co-founder Dr. Jim Yong Kim summarized PIH’s influence on international MDR-TB policy in 2005: “The world is now poised to move beyond minimalism and think about the full range of tools and interventions that will be necessary to meet the most pressing global health challenges.”
2013
PIH Engage Begins Bringing Awareness to TB Funding
Farmer helped launch the PIH Engage grassroots volunteer network, with hundreds of individuals advocating for U.S. government funding for TB programs, such as the Global Fund. This network contributes annually through thousands of calls, letters, and meetings with congressional offices.
2019
PIH Supports Writing the End TB Now Act
In 2019, Farmer, PIH staff, and Harvard University colleagues began supporting efforts to codify comprehensive TB elimination strategies into federal law. The End TB Now Act—a bill requiring all U.S. government-funded TB programs to deliver the highest standard of TB care—is a reflection of their efforts and determination. In September 2024, the act passed the U.S. Senate following thousands of PIH community members writing their Congressional representatives and holding constituent meetings in support.
2023
Price of GeneXpert Lowered
PIH has worked for years to advocate for increased access to drugs and testing in the fight against TB. In 2023, PIH joined clinicians and TB activists—such as John Green, PIH board member and bestselling author—to collectively urge Danaher Corporation to lower the price of its test cartridges used in GeneXpert machines, which can rapidly detect TB. Because of this coordinated global activism, Danaher Corporation lowered the price of GeneXpert cartridges by 20%.
Bedaquiline Becomes More Accessible Worldwide
PIH and partners also called on Johnson & Johnson to increase access to bedaquiline, a key drug in the fight against MDR-TB. In response, Johnson & Johnson agreed not to enforce patents on bedaquiline in any low- or middle-income countries, lowering costs by allowing generic versions to be manufactured. In February 2025, prices had dropped over 50%.
2024
WHO Updates Treatment Protocols Based on endTB Results
The endTB project—a partnership between PIH, Médecins Sans Frontières, and Interactive Research and Development and funded by Unitaid— dramatically improved treatment of MDR-TB through clinical trials of new drugs and shorter treatment regimens. In August 2024, the WHO recommended the use of three new MDR-TB treatment regimens studied in the endTB clinical trial, a pivotal decision as countries often determine treatment protocols based on WHO recommendations.
