Supporting, Mobilizing, and Accelerating Research for Tuberculosis Elimination is a five-year initiative made possible by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), with the assistance of the American people, that aims to transform TB prevention and care. In 2021, an estimated 10.6 million people fell sick with TB worldwide, and 1.6 million died, making it second only to COVID-19 as leading infectious disease killer. SMART4TB will design and implement research studies with local partners to identify effective person-centered methods for finding, treating, and preventing TB; strengthen local capacity to conduct high-quality research; and engage communities to build demand for new interventions, drive policy change, and improve implementation of new and existing interventions to reach the End TB targets.
how smart4tb works
SMART4TB has six guiding principles that shape everything from how partners are engaged to how resources are utilized to produce results that drive impact.
- Transformative – novel approaches for reducing TB burden
- Inclusive – engaging Ministers of Health and National TB Programs, local partners, and affected communities at all steps of the research to policy continuum
- Collaborative – Providing support and processes for locally-led research
- Transparent – Using a transparent and unbiased process for selecting studies in partnership with USAID
- Supportive – Intentional support for developing the next generation of TB scientists
- Synergistic – Harmonizing with other USAID resources, including Global Accelerator to End TB and other programs, and leveraging support from product developers and sponsors