This handbook provides practical information on how to implement the relevant World Health Organization (WHO) policies, and provides expert opinion whenever there is, as yet, no WHO policy. Effective management of drug-resistant TB requires input from those responsible for activities related to prevention, case detection, care and treatment, surveillance, drug management, and monitoring and evaluation of a program''s performance. The coordination of all these activities at different levels of a national TB program are referred to as the "programmatic management of drug resistant tuberculosis" (PMDT), and should be seen in the context of the legal and operational frameworks of local health care systems. Thus, the Handbook should be seen as an implementation guide that requires adaptation in the local context without departing from WHO''s general policy guidance.