Profoh endorsed Nigeria Government with US$ 1.5 M for Procurement of Treatment for people with multi-drug resistant TB

PROFOH  is a leading  member of the Stop  TB Partnership of the WHO. The Organization  has endorsed the Nigerian Government’s approval of US$1.42 million to procure quality assured Second Line Drugs (SLDs) that will be used to provide treatment for 500 multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) patients. The second line drugs ordered by the government will be delivered by Stop TB Partnership’s Global Drug Facility starting this June 2015.

The largest economy in Africa and the country with the third highest TB burden in the world – Nigeria – performed a prevalence survey in 2012 to measure the burden of TB. The survey showed doubling of the estimated overall prevalence of TB (the total number of people with TB) and a tripling of the estimated incidence (the total number of new cases), compared to previous   WHO estimates.

Nigeria started MDR-TB treatment  in 2010 after a successful pilot  in DR-TB treatment centre inUniversity College Hospital, Ibadan, and Oyo State. A year later, MDR-TB treatment was scaled up nationwide.

The Government of Nigeria is poised to support, reach and treat everyone living with TB and will continue to unite against TB. The decision to procure drugs through Global Drug Facility (GDF) ensures that quality-assured drugs will be delivered to people living with MDR-TB in Nigeria. The NTP wanted to ensure that all TB patients whether treated with drugs procured using government funding or Global Fund financing received medicines of the same quality.