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Latest News
In this edition of our newsletter, read about the recent high-level event to scale up TB prevention around the world, the status of the roll-out of 3HP across IMPAACT4TB (I4TB) project countries, and the status of nitrosamine impurity issues, among other updates. Scroll down to access resources, including recordings of recent webinars on TB prevention.
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High-level event: Global drive to scale up TB prevention
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On June 16, the World Health Organization (WHO) held a special high-level event to discuss key actions needed at global and country levels to scale up TB prevention and achieve the 2022 UN High Level Meeting targets on TB preventive treatment and reach everyone with TB. The Aurum Institute’s CEO, Gavin Churchyard, spoke at the event.
- Read more about the event here.
- Watch the recording here.
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3HP rolling-out in project countries
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As of March 31, 2021, more than 20,000 patients, including in nine of I4TB’ project countries, now have access to 3HP. These countries include five I4TB countries (Ethiopia, Cambodia, Malawi and Zimbabwe), as well as Vietnam and Pakistan, which received their first orders of 3HP in 2020. During the first half of 2021, Mozambique, Indonesia, Ghana (from I4TB) as well as Bangladesh, Venezuela, Costa Rica, and Cuba received deliveries of 3HP and most have started administering it to patients. We expect seven more countries to receive 3HP in the second half of 2021, with additional ones accessing 3HP next year.
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Optimising TB preventive therapy among people living with HIV
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The Opt4TPT study is a three-year programmatic assessment of TB preventive treatment (TPT) delivery across three countries–Ethiopia, South Africa and Zimbabwe–to generate critical knowledge to improve TPT uptake, implementation and outcomes. This study will contribute to a better understanding of TPT uptake and completion from the patient perspective and delivery from the health system perspective.
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Update on nitrosamine impurities in rifapentine and implications for 3HP
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The I4TB team continues to keep a close eye on nitrosamine concerns, and following guidance from the U.S Food and Drug Administration and the WHO. Given that the known risks of not treating or preventing TB outweigh the theoretical risk of nitrosamine intake in rifapentine, we are going ahead with the use of 3HP. All suppliers are monitoring nitrosamine levels to ensure they do not exceed allowable limits.
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- #ICYMI: New 3HP video
- This year on World TB Day, we released a new video showcasing the launch of 3HP across six of our project countries. Congratulations to all our partners for this great achievement. Watch it here and share it widely!
- Launch of 3HP fixed-dose combination (FDC) in project countries
- Ghana, Mozambique, Ethiopia and Cambodia received the 3HP FDC product in the 1st quarter of this year. The Ministry of Health for Ghana and Mozambique held an official launch of the 3HP FDC rollout. Watch the video for Ghana here and Mozambique here.
- Rifapentine is now part of TB treatment regimens
- A recent study found that a new four-month regimen of anti-TB drugs that includes rifapentine and moxifloxacin works as well as the standard six-month regimen for treatment of drug-susceptible TB. Read the WHO’s rapid communication on these results and find out more here.
- No cost extension
- The IMPAACT4TB team has received final approval from Unitaid for a no-cost extension of the project until August 2022. We look forward to a potential cost extension to move the grant all the way to 2024.
Civil society success stories
- Women living with HIV embrace TB preventive therapy in Malawi, by Dingaan Mithi, Journalists Against AIDS, Malawi.
- Strengthening the voices of community adolescents and mentor mothers on the benefit of TPT in Ghana, by Jerry Amoah-Larbi, Ghana TB Voices Network.
- Getting youth engagement in 3HP Advocacy is not as easy as 1,2,3, by Kelvin Makhura, Zimbabwe Young Positives (ZY+).
- The waves of Policy Reform in Malawi, by Harry Madukani, COWLHA, Malawi.
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- Treatment Action Group training
- For the third year, IMPAACT4TB Consortium partner, Treatment Action Group (TAG), held a training program for activists, TB Preventive Treatment | Fundamentals for Activists! The course equips activists with everything they need to know to advocate for the highest attainable standard of TB Preventive Treatment in their communities. TAG has trained over 300 CSO groups over the past three years. Read about the course here.
- 6th South Africa TB conference (5-7 June 2021)
- This year’s conference focused not only on innovation and new developments in TB, but also embraced COVID-19 and brought delegates up to speed with the latest developments and new insights into this modern scourge. Find out more here.
- Project ECHO webinar
- On March 10, our team took part in a Project ECHO session on policy, research, implementation and best practices for TB Preventive Therapy. Access the recording here.
- International AIDS Society (IAS) educational fund webinar
- On 15 June, 2021, IAS streamed a webinar on the theme of ‘Update to the WHO tuberculosis screening guidelines: What people living with HIV, implementers and national programme managers need to know’. Click here to watch the webinar recording. More information on this webinar, including presentation slides, will be available soon on the IAS website here.
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