Tuberculosis Vaccine Preparedness Repository

KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation is one of the international consortium members of the USAID-funded “Supporting, Mobilizing, and Accelerating Research for Tuberculosis Elimination” (SMART4TB).

SMART4TB focus on tuberculosis (TB) vaccine preparedness, has led to the creation of the TB Vaccine Preparedness Repository. This repository is an interactive platform that keeps track of, and provides an overview of completed, ongoing, and planned TB adolescent and adult vaccine related research projects.

Why the need of a TB Vaccine Preparedness Repository?

New safe, effective, affordable, and accessible TB vaccines that are broadly accepted by the end users will be a milestone to combat TB. It could contribute to the World Health Organization (WHO)’s End TB Strategy targets for reduction of disease burden, with the goal to build a world without TB.

These vaccines could greatly benefit health and well-being of people, mainly in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) with a high TB burden.

With 17 TB vaccine candidates in the pipeline, of which six are in phase 3 development, and a new class of TB vaccines intended for adolescents and adults, there is an urgency to assess TB vaccine preparedness in countries. The next several years will be crucial in terms of preparation for the vaccine introduction to ensure effective preparation for implementation, once a new TB vaccine is available.

Because of the growing interest of many players in this field, effective communication and information sharing platforms are needed. Therefore, SMART4TB activities focus on the creation of an online interactive platform to share the state of initiatives on vaccine preparedness to guide strategic project direction, highlight potential gaps, and foster collaboration.

HOW IS THE REPOSITORY BUILT?

A survey inquiring about initiatives/studies that have been conducted, are ongoing, or planned regarding TB vaccine readiness was shared among key stakeholders working in the field of TB and TB vaccine readiness. Data collection was guided by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Framework to prepare for Country Introduction of New TB Vaccines for Adults and Adolescents and included availability, accessibility, acceptability and characteristics such as country, vaccine target group, and vaccine candidate. The first survey was sent out in April 2023 and updated in July/August 2024. The repository will be updated semi-annually.

ABOUT THE REPOSITORY

On the repository’s world map, the intensity of the color represents the number of projects within that country. On the left side, users can select specific characteristics such as vaccine type, type of target population, and whether it is a completed, current or planned project. The world map will filter according to these characteristics.

Below the world map, you can find the individual projects. By clicking on the project you will find a detailed description and resources whenever available. You can click on each separate category provided to find more information and projects related to it.

UPDATES AND FEEDBACK

Stakeholders interested or involved in TB vaccine preparedness are encouraged to share this repository. If you would like to include completed, current, and future planned TB vaccine preparedness projects or provide an update in between the semi-annual updates, please fill in this template and share it with Joeri Buis (Joeri.buis@kncvtbc.org).