The civil society organizations (CSOs), have urged health ministry to urgently plug Tuberculosis (TB) drugs shortage saying that disruption in the supply of anti-TB drugs affects patients’ treatment outcomes.
The Civil Society organizations revealed that there is a dearth of supply of T.B drugs at the government facilities right now as patients are forced to share packs with each other.
According to Dr. Samuel Kinyanjui, Country Director Aids Healthcare Foundation (AHF) inadequate and poorly administered treatment regimens facilitate drug-resistance, and further infection in the community.
“Shortages not only increases the chances of developing further resistance to drugs but also increases the risk of the disease transmission to a larger community, adding additional burden on the TB program,” Kinyanjui said the shortage could undo gains made in T.B program as well as the national target to eliminate T.B by 2035.”
Dr. Kinyanjui was speaking in Nairobi at a forum hosted by Aids Healthcare Federation Kenya (AHF) in collaboration with Health NGOs Network (HENNET) and Polycom Development Project. The forum had brought together CSOs to discuss feedback from the political declaration from United Nations High Level Meeting (UNHLM). Also discussed in the forum was just concluded Universal Health Coverage Conference in Kenya, Pandemic Prevention Preparedness and Response (PPPR) and TB drug shortage in Kenya.
The CSO’s called for a drug supply chain that is solid in terms of reliability, responsiveness and agility They argue that many health facilities that have initiated treatment might not have enough drugs to meet the demand for patients and many patients might not get all drugs in time under current low levels of drug stocks.
Dr. Kinyanjui explained that they have been made aware of patients sharing packs of T.B drugs because of the shortages. He says that each pack is usually designed and meant for one patient for the entire course of his/her treatment journey to avert added cost of transport and or disruptions from doing day to day economic activities.
The CSOs says that uninterrupted supply of medicines is the first step to preventing drug resistance, and with the current shortages forcing people to frequent facilities for refills has a catastrophic cost.
Dr. Kinyanjui explained that in the initial phases of treatment, T.B patients are supposed to come to the facility every two weeks to collect their medication for two months and then come once per month for the subsequent months.
“When you force them to come more frequently some are defaulting because some may not have fare to come or sometimes, they lack the time to come and collect the medication,” Kinyanjui said.
Stop TB Partnership Kenya National Coordinator Everlyn Kibuchi acknowledged that shortages have persisted for more than six months. However, she explained that the government has made a procurement of 7,000 packs with another consignment of 28,000 packs expected to be received before the end of October.
While acknowledge the effort for stock replenishment, the CSOs argue the expected consignment will be a drop in the ocean based on the fact that the shortage has persisted in the country over a long period of time.
Dr. Kinyanjui instead wants Kenya Medical Supply Authority (KEMSA) to establish a robust mechanism for drug forecasting to prevent future shortages and ensure a continuous supply of essential anti-TB medications.
He reiterated that under the “standards for stocking norms” for TB drugs, the country needs to maintain a “reserve stock” of the drugs for 18 months and or 9 months in extreme cases. With the average treatment period of ordinary type of TB infection is six months, the treatment of MDR patients can run up to 18 months.
