World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) support an external evaluation of Zimbabwe’s programmatic management of TB Preventive Therapy (TPT)

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) supported an external evaluation of Zimbabwe’s programmatic management of TB Preventive Therapy (TPT) from July 5–8, 2022.

The country has the chance to gain a deeper knowledge of the lessons discovered so far in the TPT implementation in order to inform future plans and quicken the rollout.

The procedure gives the nation the chance to exchange best practises with other nations throughout the world.

The Elizabeth Glaser Paediatric Foundation (EGPAF), Jointed Hands, Rehabilitation and Prevention of Tuberculosis (RAPT), Stop TB Partnership Zimbabwe, and The Union Zimbabwe Trust are among the important partners and researchers who contributed to the review, which is being funded by UNITAID.

In 2020, the Zimbabwean government adopted TPT shorter regimens via MoHCC.

This was done to make sure that high risk groups, such as HIV-positive individuals (PLWHIV), young children, and all those in close proximity to proven TB patients, had access to shorter, safer TB preventive medication regimens in order to shield them from contracting the disease.

Zimbabwe is another nation that has embraced and modified the updated WHO consolidated tuberculosis guidelines, namely Module 1: Prevention: Tuberculosis Preventive Treatment.

Additionally, the nation has been noted as one of the nations in the world that has made noteworthy advancements in the implementation of shorter TPT.

The Global Fund, PEPFAR, USCDC, UNITAID, and USAID, among other partners, are providing financial support for the TPT’s implementation in Zimbabwe.

One of the nations with the highest rates of TB, TB/HIV, and multi-drug resistant TB is Zimbabwe (MDR-TB).

Only 11.58 percent of the adult population of the nation has HIV, and in 2020, 193/100,000 persons were expected to have TB.

With a predicted 54 percent co-infection incidence in Zimbabwe by 2020, TB is likewise largely an HIV-driven disease.

“We appreciate the support that donor organisations and technical partners have provided.

The evaluation is an opportunity for the nation to evaluate this crucial intervention, rethink its strategy, and quicken the rollout of the TB preventive therapy, according to Dr. Charles Sandy, deputy director of the MoHCC’s AIDS and TB Programmes.

After the review, a report will be created to assist Zimbabwe in creating an action plan to strengthen the implementation of TB preventive therapy.

Nicole Kawaza, a representative of the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) for Zimbabwe, emphasised the significance of boosting investments throughout the TB continuum of care for family members of TB patients by bolstering contact investigation efforts as a gateway to TB treatment and TB Preventative Therapy.

Platforms like the PMTPT review, according to the author, “reaffirm the value of TPT as prevention of TB disease is frequently easier, faster, and less expensive than the remedial action of TB treatment.”

One of the key promises made at the first-ever UN High Level Meeting on Tuberculosis (UNHLM on TB), which took place on September 26, 2018, was to quickly expand access to TB infection testing and treatment while also providing 30 million people with TB preventative therapy (TPT).

Since then, WHO has updated its recommendations for managing TPT programmes and encouraged the use of shorter TPT regimens that promote uptake, particularly the three-month (3HP) weekly regimen of isoniazid and rifapentine and the three-month (3MT) daily regimen of isoniazid and rifampicin (3RH).

Prior to the availability of shorter treatment options, the typical regimen called for a minimum of 6 months of INH, but its efficacy was hampered by low completion rates brought on by the lengthy treatment period and its side effects.

According to Dr. Avinash Kanchar, Medical Officer in the TB Prevention, Treatment, Care & Innovation unit of the WHO Global TB Programme in Geneva, “the review will help the country to enlist key bottlenecks in expansion and national scale up of TPT services such as funding, human resources, health worker capacity, procurement and supply chain management and identify areas for strengthening of programmatic management of TPT at different levels in Zimbabwe.”