Tuesday 29 March 2011

TUBERCULOSIS: Global Alliance for TB Drug Development document

FALLING SHORT
Falling short: ensuring access to simple, safe and effective first-line medicines for tuberculosis.

Produced by: Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (2010)
This report presents evidence to document the challenges hindering effective first-line TB treatment worldwide. Many TB patients around the world are at risk because:
they are not receiving the medicines they need, whether because of poor quality, interruptions in the drug supply known as stock-outs
they receive loose, single-drug pills that complicate treatment.
Key recommendations to address these issues include:
preventing stock -outs: national TB programmes and procurement officials should increase supervision and monitoring to catch early signs of stock-outs and respond quickly and aggressively
ensuring quality assured medicines: at the same time, regulators need to work with manufacturers, the WHO and others to ensure that patients are getting quality-assured Fixed-Dose Combinations (FDCs), even in the private sector
increasing the uptake of FDCs: international donors also have a role to play by ensuring timely delivery of funds, supporting Public-Private Mix (PPM) programmes to improve private sector treatment, and providing targeted resources and assistance to regulators and manufacturers for implementation and enforcement of quality standards.

The document argues that there is a need to refocus on the most basic level of TB care to protect the gains of recent years and speed momentum in the fight against TB. A renewed commitment from everyone engaged in the fight against TB is required to ensure all TB patients are getting the treatment they need when they need it.
Every tuberculosis (TB) patient in the world has the right to an uninterrupted supply of simple, safe and effective medicines for TB. But for too many TB patients globally, this is not happening. These patients
are not getting the treatment they need when they need it.
When manufactured, administered and used correctly, first-line TB medicines are one of the most costeffective health interventions in the world. In the 50 years or so since they were developed, these drugs
have been used to successfully treat millions of TB patients. Yet many TB patients around the world are at risk because they are not receiving the medicines they need, whether because of poor quality, interruptions
in the drug supply known as stock-outs, or because they receive loose, single-drug pills that complicate
treatment. Without consistent access to the right medicines at the right time, TB patients can default on their treatment and continue infecting those around them. Worse, they risk the development of drug-resistant TB strains or even death.
http://www.tballiance.org/downloads/publications/Falling_Short.pdf

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