(Kakata City, December 23, 2025) The Ministry of Health, through its National Leprosy & TB Control Program, concludes a five-day Validation of the Management Guidelines.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a threat to global public health and is one of the most infectious causes of death in the world. Liberia has a high burden of tuberculosis (TB). In 2025, the country reduced its TB incidence rate from 308/100,000 to 207 per 100,000 population with a treatment coverage of 69% (WHO 2025). The current National TB Management Guideline was last updated in 2019, which is outdated in terms of some newer innovations in the diagnosis and management of Tuberculosis.

In the last five to ten years, reinvigorated research into new medicines and regimens to treat TB has paved the way for the development and evaluation of several novel regimens. The evidence generated by research provided a solid scientific basis for the World Health Organization (WHO) to consistently update its global policy, which was adopted by countries.

Speaking at the opening session, Hon. George P. Jacob, Assistant Minister for Policy and Planning, extends gratitude to The TB Program’s management Team and the technicians on behalf of the Health Minister, Dr. Louise M. Kpoto, for the level of job done. He indicated that a lot of the TB Indicators have improved despite the challenges the program is facing. He called on participants to consider country context, experience and local lessons learned to complement WHO recommendations. This will make the guidelines relevant for Liberia and responsive to our needs. In closing, Min. Jacobs officially opened the workshop.

For her part, Assistant Minister for Preventive Services, Dr. Cuallau J. Howe, highlighted the importance of the validation and encouraged technicians to focus on the document. Dr. Howe emphasized that the National TB Management Guidelines are intended to accelerate progress toward ending TB in Liberia. She recognized the efforts of the collaborating divisions and partners who are working to update and validate the National guidelines, SOPs and algorithms in alignment with WHO recommendations for clinical and programmatic management of both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant TB.  

For his part, Mr. Rufus G. Saye, Program Manager, National TB and Leprosy & TB Control Program, give an overview of the management and validation of the guidelines, highlighting that the National TB Guidelines is in alignment with international standards and national priorities, ensuring effective TB control and management, using the best available evidence on the diagnosis, treatment and management of Drug Susceptible (DS) and Drug Resistant (DR) -TB to guide medical practitioners and programmatic implementation.

“The document will incorporate recommendations based on newly emerged evidence on the treatment of drug-susceptible TB and Drug Resistant-TB, including other Molecular diagnostic tests for TB. The guidelines will also incorporate new SOPs and Algorithms emphasizing WHO recommendations, such as the use of digital chest X-rays (CXR) equipped with computer-aided detection (CAD) to improve TB case finding.

Mr. Saye added that the guideline will consider the introduction of shorter treatment regimen such as the 6-month BPaL(M), systematic screening for TB with the use of digital X-ray with AI capacities, childhood TB diagnosis using Simple One Step (SOS) stool testing through the use of Xpert MTB/RIF/Ultra. The guidelines also consider the management of TB comorbidities such as HIV, Diabetes, Undernutrition and Substance use disorder. The national TB program plans to transition from quarterly reporting to monthly reporting of all TB data across the country, which will support integrated service delivery.

In attendance were Plan International Liberia, World Health Organization (WHO), Partner In Health (PIH), The Carter Center (TCC), LUMDS, County Health Officer, Selected Health Facilities, aligned MoH Units, Divisions, and Program.