Patients, docs approach PM as lack of anti-TB drugs hits states | India News – Times of India

On the eve of World TB Day on March 24, TB survivors, patient groups, treating doctors and public health activists are writing to the Prime Minister flagging the widespread stock-out of anti-TB drugs that threatens to undo the gains of ‘TB-Mukt Bharat’ programme.
The letter to the PM points out that people currently on treatment faced the highest risk of treatment interruption and a high risk of developing resistance, which would increase risk of the disease in the community, adding to the burden of the TB programme.Co-chair of the India TB Forum, Dr T Sundararaman and Dr Yogesh Jain, have written to Union health secretary and chairperson of India TB Forum, pointing out reports of stock-out from the ground in Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Stock-out of TB drugs for drug resistant TB was reported in Sept last year too. The current stock-out of regular TB drugs is likely to last for at least three months more as indicated by Central TB division in a letter to all state TB officers. The letter warned them that supplies may get delayed due to “unforeseen and extraneous circumstances”. This has been caused by the disruption in supply from Central TB division, which is supposed to procure drugs for the entire country.
The letter dated March 18, 2024, stated that “the approval of competent authority is being conveyed for local procurement of DSTB-IP (A) and DSTB CP (A for a period of three months, as per requirement, at State/District level from the date of issue of this letter or till the central procurement is completed, whichever is earlier, so that individual patient care is not affected”.
For a country that announced in 2019 it will eradicate TB by 2025 and developed a” National Strategic Plan (NSP) for Tuberculosis (2017-2025) with the goal of ending TB by 2025″, there have been frequent stock-outs of TB drugs in the last year.
“We haven’t faced such a terrible situation of stock-out of first line drugs since the 1980s. This could reverse the gains of several decades. Frequent stock-outs is a recipe for rise in drug resistant TB. We will also lose the trust of the people in the govt system that has been built painstakingly over several decades,” said a TB expert.
The Central TB division letter states that “there is no restriction to specific pack sizes…and procurement in any formulation available in the market is permissible”.
It also allows a case by case reimbursement of drug costs to the patient, if the district/health facilities are unable to provide free drugs.
“Decentralised procurement of this kind is especially challenging for states limiting their power to negotiate quantity, price and delivery timelines. Limited budgets may also result in states procuring drugs that are not quality assured and may not be the appropriate fixed dose combinations thereby compromising people’s treatment outcome,” stated the letter being addressed to the PM.

Patients, docs approach PM as lack of anti-TB drugs hits states | India News – Times of India

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