Stronger Together: Countries Praise PeerLINC’s Model as a Key Contributor to Progress Against DR-TB

A year and a half of global impact driven by partnerships, expertise, and country-to-country learning

When the Philippines became one of the earliest countries in the world to implement the World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended six-month BPaLM/ BPaL regimens for drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB), the transition signaled the country’s commitment to modernizing and improving DR-TB care. With the Department of Health (DOH) at the helm, and through close coordination with its technical partners, including the Tropical Disease Foundation (TDF) and TB Alliance, the country rapidly moved from lengthy, toxic regimens to shorter, all-oral options–an evolution in patient-centered care backed by strong evidence.

That experience became the foundation for PeerLINC Knowledge Hub, a peer-to-peer learning model established by TB Alliance in 2024 with support from the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and in partnership with the Philippine Department of Health and TDF. PeerLINC was built on a simple premise that countries seeking to accelerate the implementation of new DR-TB treatments learn best from their peers–other countries that have been successful in their own implementation.

In its first eighteen months, PeerLINC has grown into a dynamic platform for knowledge exchange, capacity building, and practical, implementer-level guidance on rolling out shorter TB treatments. To date, it has assisted a total of 41 countries and even launched additional initiatives, like the Global Technical Experts Council (G-TEC).

A knowledge hub built on early, evidence-based leadership

PeerLINC’s strength lies in real-world experience. Philippine clinicians, program managers, and laboratory experts who operationalized BPaLM/ BPaL now help other countries navigate the same questions on how to structure decentralized care, manage adverse events, update guidelines, strengthen diagnostics, and communicate regimen changes to frontline teams.

This approach has earned the confidence of partners. Speaking to participants from Pacific Island countries and Somalia, DFAT Counsellor Peter Adams emphasized that TB is a challenge the region must confront together, noting that initiatives like PeerLINC “bring together experts from across the Pacific and beyond to share best practices, build technical capacity, and foster collaboration.”

For DOH, this is part of a broader mission. As Health Secretary Dr. Teodoro Herbosa shared, the Philippines welcomes peers “not just as participants in a training program, but as partners in a global mission to end tuberculosis.” 

Growing impact

Since 2024, PeerLINC Knowledge Hub has supported a diverse set of countries—large, small, landlocked, island-based—each with distinct system challenges. It has upended traditional barriers to technical assistance by facilitating requests for training more rapidly, cost-effectively, and equitably (high and low TB burden countries alike) than previous models. 

PeerLINC draws from a wide toolbox of trainings and formats.  It has provided full in-country workshops, virtual sessions, clinical exchanges, and implementation planning to countries across Asia, Africa, and the Pacific. 

But true transformative change is the result of many dedicated actors and stakeholder groups, including national TB programs, clinicians, TB-affected communities, and more. Countries around the world have recognized the integral piece PeerLINC plays in the path to modernizing DR-TB treatment, citing its assistance in refining national rollout plans, finalizing training packages, standardizing monitoring tools, and preparing health facilities for the shift to shorter regimens.

Countries often highlight PeerLINC’s value as a driver of practical, implementer-level progress.

Peru acknowledges its PeerLINC engagement helped accelerate a rollout now benefiting more than a thousand patients, while Brazil’s Ministry of Health described PeerLINC’s guidance as instrumental in shaping its national plan. Nigeria likewise used PeerLINC training resources to address long-standing gaps that had delayed adoption.

Likewise, PeerLINC’s G-TEC has become an additional resource for clinicians who face complex cases. With experts from multiple countries responding to technical queries within 48 hours, G-TEC has emerged as a practical, real-time support system for implementers managing DR-TB in the field.

Participants consistently emphasize the strength of PeerLINC’s peer-to-peer model, which prioritizes shared experience over classroom-style instruction. As Dr. Sissy Musala N’kas of the Democratic Republic of Congo shared, “The exchanges on what is being done in the Philippines have allowed us to better understand things, rather than receiving everything as training data and having difficulties in implementation when returning to our country.”

Rwanda echoed these sentiments after PeerLINC supported the rapid updating of its national DR-TB guidelines and the planning of its training-of-trainers program. “PeerLINC training facilitators have strong experience and well-prepared training materials,” noted Dr. Yves Habimana-Mucyo, Director of the MDR-TB Unit. “Rwanda’s National TB Program has been delighted by the professional work, contribution, and experience of PeerLINC.”

Across these contexts, PeerLINC serves as a bridge that helps countries refine rollout plans, strengthen clinical practice, and translate policy into effective, shorter DR-TB treatment for patients.

Continuing the work

As PeerLINC grows, its focus remains clear: help countries move from policy to implementation, and ensure that shorter, safer TB treatments can reach patients sooner. Modules on BDLLfxC, nine-month regimens, preventive therapy, and key comorbidities are expanding its training portfolio, demonstrating the ability of PeerLINC to scale and adapt to support additional new technologies. More regional workshops, more peer exchanges, and stronger linkages with National TB Programs are planned.

PeerLINC’s story is ultimately one of shared expertise and sustained cooperation.

While PeerLINC’s model is unique and strong, it has been able to translate training to impact by developing a community of practice comprising governments and national TB programs, partners, and implementers who believe that shorter TB regimens should reach all who need them today, not tomorrow.

And as more countries look to transition to modern DR-TB treatments, and next-generation TB treatment technologies make their way through the pipeline, PeerLINC stands ready, grounded in the lessons of its 18 months and strengthened by the partnerships that made it possible.