TB research is one of the 3 pillars of the WHO strategy to end TB by 2030. In order to support this aspect of TB programme management in the West and Central African regions, WHO/TDR has initiated a series of training courses aimed at strengthening the operational research capacities of the national TB programmes (NTPs) in the two regions. It is in this context that module 4 of the training took place from 29 March to 1st April 2021, via the Zoom platform. The workshop was attended primarily by NTPs from CARN-TB, but also by several NTPs from WARN-TB.
During the training session, the aim of which was to familiarise participants with scientific writing, the team of facilitators from the WHO/TDR, coordinated by Dr Corinne MERLE, used short pre-recorded videos to explain the different ways of communicating scientific data, as well as the rules for writing and presenting each method. These videos were accompanied by practical sessions during which each country selected a current research topic in the NTP in order to produce an abstract. The aim was for the abstract to be submitted by 6 May 2021 for the next UNION conference.
The format chosen for the training course met with the general approval of all the participants, who did, however, suggest a few points for improvement. At the end of the workshop, several countries were able to present abstracts that will shortly be submitted to the UNION’s scientific committee, as part of the next world conference.