ABSTRACT
In this chapter we discuss why it is imperative to address the health care workforce crisis in order to further improve tuberculosis (TB) control, particularly in high TB burden countries (HBC). Recent data indicate that reaching the TB detection targets, adopted by the international community, will only be achieved if health systems are strengthened and providedwith a sufficient, competent, and motivated workforce. Furthermore, workforce problems are multidimensional and complex, and require comprehensive approaches to address them. The potential collaborations between disease-specific programs, such as TB, and the broader health systems are examined with a view to bringing mutual benefits to programs and systems as a whole. How TB programs could also contribute to ameliorating the overall human resource (HR) crisis, while controlling a disease that is both preventable and treatable, is also discussed.
