Surveillance and TB M&E Strengthening Plan (STEP)
The Surveillance and TB M&E Strengthening Plan (STEP) is a systematic process developed by TB DIAH to provide a comprehensive landscape of the TB M&E and surveillance system in a country and a costed action plan for improvement.
The STEP process is comprised of:
- A desk review, completed by TB DIAH, to identify strengths and gaps in a country’s TB M&E and surveillance system’s functions and structures. The desk review also defines essential technical, organizational, and behavioral elements necessary to make that system function effectively. These desk reviews build on the findings of each country’s completed TB M&E and Surveillance Systems Analysis (MESSA) and Assessment of Data Collection, Reporting, and Analysis Capacity (ARC).
- Next, TB DIAH conducts targeted interviews with key experts across the system to fill information gaps and answer questions raised during the desk review.
- TB DIAH then reviews and synthesizes the findings of its desk review and targeted interviews to create content for the stakeholder workshop
- In a stakeholders workshop convened by TB DIAH, representatives from the USAID Mission, STAR Advisors, national TB program (NTP) staff, USAID/HQ, Ministry of Health, other NGOs/CBOs and TB DIAH validate the synthesized information and prioritize key areas of focus to improve the country’s TB information systems
- Completion of the STEP yields a harmonized, holistic, and costed plan of action for the NTP, donors such as USAID and the Global Fund, and implementing partners, to address gaps and take advantage of opportunities to strengthen a country’s TB M&E and surveillance system.
To learn more about the STEP, contact: hub@tbdiah.org
