Ongoing

ACT4TB – Accelerating TB Incidence Reduction

Active case finding, Contact investigation and TB preventive treatment (ACT4TB) is a new initiative led by KNCV, designed to reduce tuberculosis (TB) incidence by supporting countries strengthening the foundations of TB prevention. 

Active case finding, Contact investigation and TB preventive treatment (ACT4TB) is a new initiative led by KNCV, designed to reduce tuberculosis (TB) incidence by supporting countries strengthening the foundations of TB prevention. The project is executed with financial support from SMT – Stichting Mondiale Tuberculosebestrijding and donations by private funders to KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation.

ACT4TB is built on a simple but powerful idea: to end TB, we must stop transmission before disease occurs.

By investing now in high‑quality prevention approaches and strong and resilient health and community systems, ACT4TB supports countries accelerate progress today while preparing for the next generation of TB tools tomorrow.

Aim

ACT4TB aims to accelerate the reduction of TB incidence by strengthening proactive, people-centred prevention systems that reduce transmission and save lives.

Initially, this means strengthening and expanding three proven prevention pillars:

  • Active Case Finding (ACF) to identify TB early among people and communities at highest risk.
  • Contact Investigation (CI) to systematically reach those exposed to TB.
  • Optimized TB Preventive Treatment (TPT) to prevent infection from progressing to disease.

The coming decade, new tools are expected to become available such as real-time point‑of‑care diagnostics, non-sputum-based diagnostics, shorter TB preventive treatment regimens, TB vaccines, AI‑driven tools and more. However, new technologies alone will not end TB.

Through ACT4TB we focus on strengthening countries’ system readiness, resulting in:

  • Health systems that are capable of rapidly adopting new tools.
  • Community systems that ensure access and, trust, and participation.
  • Data and learning systems that enable scale‑up and sustainability.

Our approach

ACT4TB is focussing on reduction of incidence in three countries in Africa, Central Asia and South-East Asia, as well as sharing of experiences in reducing TB incidence among the countries in their regions.

ACT4TB is firmly anchored in national leadership and ownership. We work in alignment with the National and subnational TB Programs’ (NTP) strategies, workplans, and existing and forthcoming domestic and donor investments, including the Global Fund.

Rather than creating parallel systems, ACT4TB works within the national and local structures, leveraging domestic resources and partner investments to maximize impact and avoid effort duplication, strengthening existing health and community systems. ACT4TB primarily provides situation specific technical assistance, supporting countries on their prevention pathway. This may include technical assistance to strengthen design, implementation, surveillance and scale-up of TB prevention and the (operational) research required to optimize implementation and measure impact.

Key features of the ACT4TB approach include:

  • Co‑creation with NTPs and their technical and community partners of solutions fitting the national and local contexts and defining KNCV’s role.
  • Supporting demonstration of implementation of the selected interventions, evidence generation, and continuous learning.
  • Technical support for  preparing and realizing national scale‑up of successful approaches.
  • Attention for health and community systems strengthening and ensuring blended financing to end TB 

Evidence, Learning and Impact

A core objective of ACT4TB is to generate robust evidence and practical lessons on how to accelerate TB incidence reduction in real‑world settings. Data collection for evidence generation is embedded in routine NTP surveillance systems, strengthening national capacity rather than creating stand‑alone study structures.

This approach ensures that learnings generated with support from the project directly inform national policy and programming. This also supports sharing of experience,  replication and scale‑up within and beyond participating countries and regions and contributes to the global evidence base on TB prevention strategies.

Partner with us

KNCV welcomes collaboration with:

  • National TB programmes and ministries of health and other government agencies.
  • Donors and global health financing mechanisms.
  • Technical partners, research institutions, and innovators.
  • Civil society and community‑based organizations.

 

Countries and partners interested in strengthening TB prevention, piloting innovative approaches, or preparing for future TB tools are invited to engage with KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation and explore collaboration opportunities.

Contact Agnes Gebhard (agnes.gebhard@kncvtbc.org) or Bianca Tasca (bianca.tasca@kncvtbc.org) to learn how KNCV can support the TB prevention goals in your setting.