Political Aspects
Government commitment to sustained TB control is essential for the other four elements to be implemented and sustained. It is necessary for the mobilization of resources and the sustainability of TB programmes. Political commitment is built on an awareness of the TB problem and the availability of an effective solution, and an understanding of the benefits of implementing effective TB control which extend beyond the individual patient and the community, since cure of a TB patient prevents transmission of infection to others.
Political commitment begins with the government deciding to make TB control a high priority. To have an impact, political commitment must translate into policy formulation, resource mobilization and programme implementation. Policy maakers must draft and disseminate a national policy document that outlines the control strategy, followed by operational guidelines that describe the practical steps to implementation, includiug national and local plans. These guidelines explain how to integrate DOTS within a country's existng general health services. Once this groundwork has been laid, financial resources and trained staff needed to put the programme into action.
Chapter 5 - How DOTS Differs from Other TB Control Approaches
Many aspects of DOTS set it apart from other TB control approaches. It is the combination of all these aspects that has led to the success of the strategy. The following table describes how a non-DOTS approach differs from the DOTS strategy according to a number of components of TB control.
