Dr Alena Skrahina

Dr Alena Skrahina graduated from the Minsk Medical University in Belarus as a medical doctor in 1986. Since 1986 she has been working in the field of respiratory medicine and tuberculosis in the Republican Scientific and Practical Centre for Pulmonology and TB (RSPCPTB) combining her clinical practice, research activity and administrative work. She defended her PhD dissertation in 1994 and Doctor of Medical Science dissertation in 2010, both dissertations in the field of TB.

Since 2005 Dr Skrahina had been assigned as a Deputy Director of the RSPCPTB and Deputy National TB Program Manager. Her responsibilities include organizing and conducting clinical management of TB, M/XDR-TB, and HIV/TB patients; chairing the National M/XDR-TB Expert’s Board (Consilium); managing the National TB Program. Throughout her experience she has gained considerable practical and programmatic experience in the diagnosis and management of TB and drug-resistant TB in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Among the major recent achievements of introduction of the new and repurposed TB drugs, implementation and roll out of new rapid diagnostics, implementation of video observed treatment for TB patients.

She has been actively involved in international efforts on TB control as a member of MDR-TB ERS/WHO Consilium, Guideline Development Group on WHO Consolidated TB Treatment Guidelines, WHO GLI Core Group, WHO Task Force for New Drug Policy Development, WHO ELI Core Group, European Technical Advisory Group on Tuberculosis Control (TAG-TB), Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Tuberculosis (STAG-TB), WHO Systematic Screening for Active Tuberculosis Group, WHO Childhood TB Group, WHO Wolfheze Working Group on Social Determinants of Tuberculosis, WHO Wolfheze Working Group on TB/HIV Collaborative Activities, WHO Wolfheze Working Group on new TB Drug Introduction and Anti-TB Drug-safety.