Zambia among six others to benefit from free TB treatment targeting 250,000 patients

Zambia is among the seven countries set to benefit from free access to short-course tuberculosis (TB) preventive treatment which will provide help to 250,000 patients across selected countries.

Other countries to benefit from this initiative are Brazil, Haiti, India, the Maldives, Nigeria, and Tanzania.

The Unitaid-funded IMPAACT4TB Consortium, led by the Aurum Institute, announced today that it will provide 250,000 patient courses of short course rifapentine-based preventive treatment regimens to seven countries to help prevent TB.

The patient courses will include the three-month 3HP regimen, and the even shorter 1HP, that is only taken for 28 days.

This contribution is part of the Consortium’s ongoing efforts to end TB and improve global health outcomes.

This supply of rifapentine-based preventive treatment regimens is expected to contribute significantly to the global effort to reduce the incidence of TB, which continues to be a major public health challenge worldwide.

This is according to the Aurum Institute and the principal investigator of the IMPAACT4TB project Chief Executive Officer, Gavin Churchyard.

“Despite commitments to end tuberculosis as a global epidemic by 2030, the disease remains the world’s deadliest infectious disease, killing around 4,400 people every day.

“TB prevention is a cornerstone of any effort to eliminate TB, and we hope that these 250,000 patient courses will contribute to countries’ efforts to finally make TB a disease of the past,” Churchyard said.

Also read: Zambia to receive US$350 million from Global Fund in support of country’s health sector

And Unitaid Executive Director Philippe Duneton said the seven countries receiving these regimens had expressed their readiness not to invest in strengthening systems around contact tracing and learning lessons on how to improve TB preventive treatment uptake and coverage

“The seven countries receiving these regimens have expressed their readiness not only to identify underserved and at-risk populations and ensure they receive these newer regimens, but also to invest in strengthening systems around contact tracing and learning lessons on how to improve TB preventive treatment uptake and coverage,” Duneton said.

WARNING! All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express permission from ZAMBIA MONITOR