15 Dec 2008

Partners Meeting on TB drug Procurement in Myanmar

A Partners Meeting on Sustainable TB Drug Supply in Myanmar was convened by Ministry of Health on 1 December 2008, in Nay Pyi Taw. The meeting, chaired by HE. Prof. Dr. Kyaw Myint, Minister of Health, was organized to seek assistance to fill a critical funding gap for first-line anti-TB drugs in the country. Following the completion of an exceptional seventh year of free grants of first-line anti-TB drugs through the Global Drug Facility, the National TB Programme in Myanmar will face an acute shortage of drugs to treat the over 150,000 cases of TB being registered by the programme every year from 2010 onwards. The programme estimates that an additional USD 4 million will be needed every year, in addition to the funding being provided through the national health budget, for these drugs. The meeting ended with optimistic perspectives on the possibilities to bridge the gap by several partners, based on their on-going or future expected support to the country.

19 Nov 2008

Addressing HIV and IDU issues vital for TB programmes

More than 90% of the diagnosed TB patients are successfully completing treatment in Nepal today. Nepal's anti-TB programme has received appreciation in the South-East Asian region as a result of ongoing government commitment, community support, forging wide range of partnerships, and the use of innovative ways of ensuring access to DOTS - especially in remote areas, said Dr Dirgh Singh Bam, Secretary, Ministry of Health, Nepal, who is also the former Vice-President of Nepal's Anti-Tuberculosis Association (NATA).

Nepal reports up to 29% TB-HIV co-infection. Dr Bam talking about TB and HIV co-infection, mentioned that it was a  particular problem among the injecting drug users (IDUs) in Nepal. “It is difficult to reach out to the IDU community to deliver healthcare services and the need to work in partnerships is critical”, he said. "Without addressing HIV and IDU issues, it will be very difficult to effectively respond to TB". People who use injecting drugs, and co-infected with HIV/TB, are also at increased risk of Hepatitis C (HCV) in Nepal.

"Community participation is very essential for effective TB/HIV care in Nepal" emphasized Dr Bam. Patients who have successfully completed TB treatment were leading district level TB committees to improve TB programme performance in many instances in Nepal.

The Patients' Charter for Tuberculosis Care, outlines the rights and responsibilities of people with tuberculosis. It empowers people with the disease and their communities through this knowledge. Dr Bam urged that the Patients' Charter for Tuberculosis Care be used as a tool to empower people with TB to become aware of their rights and responsibilities, to further improve the performance of TB programmes.

Excerpt from an article in the AMERICAN CHRONICLE : November 19, 2008 by Bobby Ramakant

Interpol Seizes Fake Drugs in Asia

The global police force Interpol in through a multi-country “Operation Storm” seized fake drugs worth an estimated 6.6 million US dollars, intended to treat tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and antibiotics for pneumonia and childhood illnesses.More than 16 million counterfeit pills were confiscated through police raids between mid-April and September 15 in seven countries, Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The police action was supported by the World Health Organisation and the World Customs Organisation.

8 October 2008

Focus on MDR-TB in Asia

The Lancet in an article entitled “Asia takes action on drug-resistant tuberculosis” focused on the response to multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) in Asia, saying that the region could yet prove the decisive battleground in the international war on the disease. More than 300 000 TB cases are estimated to have multi-drug resistance in the Asia –Pacific. However, only 1% of these patients currently receive treatment. Seven countries in the SEAR Region have established are gradually expanding MDR-TB treatment programmes under the national programmes. At the same time, the emphasis is on using the window of opportunity provided by yet low multi-drug resistance rates, to put in cost-effective interventions to prevent the further emergence of MDR-TB. How current efforts to control MDR tuberculosis in Asia will affect the longer-term global spread of the disease remains to be seen.

Full article: www.thelancet.com/infection  Volume 8 October 2008

Unified Strategy Needed to Beat Big Killers

THE GUARDIAN (UK)

In an article analyzing global progress towards Goal 6 of the Millennium Development Goals, the Guardian reported that while significant strides had been made in tackling three of the world's deadliest diseases - HIV/Aids, TB and malaria, with signs that numbers of new infections were levelling off, TB-HIV co-infection could pose a threat to further progress In 2006, of the 9.2 million new cases of TB and the 1.7 million deaths caused by the disease, 700,000 cases and 200,000 deaths were in HIV-positive people. Similarly there is also growing awareness of the interaction of malaria and HIV, with infection with one disease increasing the susceptibility to infection with the other. The growing coordination against the three diseases at international level is encouraging. At the International Aids conference in Mexico in August, Roll Back Malaria backed a campaign for the free distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets to people living with HIV and Aids. In June this year, the first HIV/TB global leaders forum was organized at the UN headquarters. The Stop TB Partnership's Global Drug Facility, Unitaid, an international facility for purchasing drugs to combat HIV, malaria and TB, the WHO and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics pledged to accelerate efforts to control drug-resistant TB with funding for new treatment in 54 countries and new labs in up to 16 countries.

More…

04 August 2008

Targeted action on HIV and tuberculosis needed to reach drug users

Addressing TB/HIV is a key theme of the 2008 International AIDS Society conference being held in Mexico City and comes two months after world leaders issued a call to drastically cut the number of TB/HIV deaths by 2015 at the landmark Global Leaders' Forum on the co-epidemic, held at the UN headquarters in New York.

More…

02 July 2008

Stop TB Partnership's Global Drug Facility, UNITAID, WHO and FIND launch initiative to accelerate MDR-TB control

People in low-resource countries who are ill with multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) will get a faster diagnosis -- in two days, not the standard two to three months -- and appropriate treatment thanks to two new initiatives unveiled today by the Stop TB Partnership, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNITAID and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND).

At present it is estimated that only 2% of MDR-TB cases worldwide are being diagnosed and treated appropriately, mainly because of inadequate laboratory services. The initiatives announced today should increase that proportion at least seven-fold over the next four years, to 15% or more.

"I am delighted that this initiative will improve both the technology needed to diagnose TB quickly, and increase the availability of drugs to treat highly resistant TB," said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who helped launch the Stop TB Partnership's Global Plan to Stop TB in 2006 and whose government is a founding member of UNITAID. "The UK is committed to stopping TB around the world, from our funding of TB prevention programmes in poor countries, to our support of cutting edge research to develop new drugs."

The new initiative consists of two projects. The first, made possible through US$ 26.1 million in funding from UNITAID, will introduce a molecular method to diagnose MDR-TB. These rapid, new molecular tests, known as line probe assays, produce an answer in less than two days. WHO's Global Laboratory Initiative and FIND will help countries prepare for installation and use of the new tests.

Under a second, complementary agreement with UNITAID for US$ 33.7 million, GDF will boost the supply of drugs needed to treat MDR-TB in 54 countries, including those receiving the new diagnostic tests. In the South-East Asia Region, Myanmar, Nepal and Timor- Leste already benefit through this mechanism.

Speaking at a press conference today, GDF General Manager Robert Matiru congratulated the partners on this groundbreaking collaboration, noting they are "laying the foundation for a global response to accelerating access to treatment and care for patients with drug-resistant TB."

 Press release

09 June 2008

Global Leaders Gather at UN Forum to Tackle Tuberculosis Threat

On the eve of a high-level meeting on AIDS, being attended by government leaders, health and business officials, heads of United Nations agencies and activists, Dr. Jorge Sampaio the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to Stop TB, convened a meeting to confront tuberculosis, the leading cause of death for people living with HIV.  

This first HIV/TB Global Leaders’ Forum which brings together several stakeholders and partners is being attended by Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and Dr. Margaret Chan, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO, to discuss the impact of the TB and HIV epidemics.

TB accounts for an estimated quarter of a million deaths each year among those living with HIV and is the number one cause of death among people living with HIV in Africa. Recently, WHO, UNAIDS and the UN Children’s Fund announced that some three million people are now receiving life-saving anti-retroviral treatment. However, TB, especially drug-resistant forms of the disease, threatens to hinder this progress.

HIV and TB are so closely connected that they are often referred to as co-epidemics or dual epidemics that drive and reinforce one another. Since HIV weakens the immune system, people living with the virus are up to 50 times more likely to develop TB than those who are HIV negative. Without proper treatment with anti-TB drugs, the majority of people living with HIV die within two to three months of becoming sick with TB.

The Forum, which is co-sponsored by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the Stop TB Partnership, is expected to produce a Call for Action to drastically cut the number of deaths associated with HIV/TB.

Source: UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news