In Malawi, over the years, there has been a call for increased political commitment towards the fight against TB. This is against the discovery that there is a need to define and consider all the necessary, sufficient conditions and factors required to bring about a desirable outcome in the fight against TB. One such factor holding back countries especially from achieving their targets is lack of political will and civil society’s engagement. The call had been for political leaders to intervene, advocate and influence national responses to TB through demonstrated collective leadership. TB Caucuses globally serve as a platform for transformed response to TB through uniting parliamentarians with shared commitment to end the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic. The criticality of the national TB Caucus in the fight against TB is immense for through it, increased resource investments in TB Programmes can be realized, the national agenda on eradicating TB can be shaped through policy and legislation, greater reach can be ensued through collective efforts and collaboration between political leaders and the private sector, and also a cascade of national agenda on eradicating TB can be shaped through networking.

The parliamentary TB Caucus was first set up on 28th June, 2018 at parliament building under the theme “Political Leadership for a TB Free Malawi.” The founding chairman of the TB Caucus was Honourable Mark Botomani, MP. However, the TB caucus has since been non-operational as some of the founding members are no longer in parliament after the tripartite elections in 2019. It is for this reason that FACT, together with partners AHF, MANET+, Paradiso Patients TB Trust and MANASO held a preliminary meeting with members of parliament on 3rd December, 2021 to reconstitute the parliamentary TB Caucus.