Technical recommendations for cholera prevention, control and elimination
The GTFCC Technical Working Groups develop and update multisectoral technical recommendations to support partners and countries in their effort to control outbreaks and eliminate cholera. Publications include guidance on strategic planning (e.g. National Cholera Plan elaboration guide) and operation-oriented outputs such as field manuals, job aids, forms/templates and training curricula. These resources are available in English, with some translations also provided in Arabic, French, and Portuguese, and the telephone application also available in Russian and Ukrainian.
The WG has made significant progress to improve clinical management and increase access to cholera treatment. This includes intervention strategies and general and detailed recommendations on the treatment of patients in both outpatient (ORPs) and in-patient cholera treatment facilities (CTUs/CTCs) as well as recommendations on the set-up and management of the structures.
The Case management working group develops recommendations and tools on standards of clinical management, including assessment and triage of patients, treatment plans and job aids to support quality patient care. Recommendations have published on the treatment of specific at risk populations including pregnant women and children with Severe Acute Malnutrition.
Future priorities focus on improving community-based care models to improve decentralization of treatment, enhancing clinical data collection to improve clinical management of patients.
The Epidemiology Working Group develops guidance and tools for strengthening cholera surveillance for the early detection of outbreaks and their reliable monitoring as well as for improving the use of surveillance data to better guide effective targeted strategies against control.
The Working group has been instrumental in developing public health surveillance guidance, and methods for identifying Priority Areas for Multisectoral Interventions (PAMIs).
The Laboratory Working Group has developed recommendations on testing strategies for cholera, laboratory procedures, as well as practical bench aids and standardized reporting tools to support laboratorians.
The group aims to strengthen laboratory capacities through promoting minimum standards for sample collection, sample transport, testing with rapid diagnostic tests, laboratory confirmation of cholera and all other areas that are key to providing quality public health laboratory services.
The OCV Working Group elaborates and updates normative guidance for the planning and implementation of cholera vaccination campaigns (preventive and reactive). The working group reviews vaccine application guidelines and manages the supply allocation framework (SAF) for the prioritization of vaccines dispatch. The group is also working on documenting OCV use and refining tools for campaign monitoring and evaluation.
The WASH Working Group is dedicated to providing cholera-specific normative guidance and promoting research and innovation in WASH interventions.
Recent accomplishments include the publication of environmental surveillance guidelines, increasing visibility at high-level meetings, and enhancing the evidence base for WASH strategies.