Pakistan receives Global Fund grant to fight TB

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ISLAMABAD — The Global Fund granted Pakistan US$25 million for the control of tuberculosis, National Manager of the TB Control Programme (NTP) Dr Noor Baloch revealed on Aug. 1.

Tuberculosis remains Pakistan’s leading cause of death among infectious diseases. According to the World Health Organisation, at least 250,000 Pakistanis develop TB every year.

"People act strange when you tell them of this disease," said Jahangir, a TB patient. "They avoid you. They need to be told there is a cure."

The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is a performance-based funding mechanism established in 2002 to provide significant amounts of new resources to allow developing countries to quickly increase treatment and prevention services to stem the spread of the diseases.

In Geneva, Global Fund's Executive Secretary Michel Kazatchkine and Pakistan’s Health Secretary Khushnood Akhtar Lashari signed two grant agreements to secure high-quality anti-TB drugs and strengthen the TB Drug Management System in Pakistan.

“The grants will expand the impact of health services and mobilise Pakistani communities to fight tuberculosis through a new form of public/private partnership for health,” Baloch said.

According to him, the bulk of the grant will be used to acquire half of Pakistan’s need for anti-TB drugs through the Global Drug Facility.

Marcela Rojo, a Global Fund spokesperson, said that with previous fund financing, Pakistan has detected more than 38,000 tuberculosis cases, trained close to 2,700 medical personnel and reached about a million people through community education programmes. “These newly signed grants propose a major procurement of anti-tuberculosis drugs as well as an overhaul of the country’s drug management programme,” which is expected to curtail the problem of TB in Pakistan significantly.