A mother and child on multidrug-resistant treatment at Borumeda Hospital

Dr. Yohanes Molla, HEAL TB/MSH

We focus on saving thousands of lives by supporting the Government of Ethiopia to strengthen treatment, detection, and referral services to combat Tuberculosis (TB) in Ethiopia. According to the 2014 WHO Global TB report, 22 high burden countries account for 80 percent of the global TB cases and Ethiopia has the tenth highest TB burden in the world. Ethiopia is also one of the 27 high MDR-TB burden countries. Our resources improve and expand TB diagnostic and treatment services and screening in rural areas and among HIV positive individual, which make up to 13 percent of TB cases each year. Our TB activities help increase the availability and demand for TB prevention, care and treatment services through improved national and regional level TB management and technical capacity; Expanding TB services to all health facilities to achieve universal directly observed treatment short course coverage; scale-up of management of multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB); enhanced TB/HIV collaborative  services which focuses on provision of TB services for HIV infected people and HIV services for TB patients; strengthened health systems with a focus on improving TB medicine and commodity supplies, monitoring and evaluation of TB activities; and develop human resource capacity.

U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Peter Vrooman greets former MDR-TB patients (now cured) of the USAID-supported ALERT hospital during the inauguration of the MDR-TB center of excellence facilities in February 2015.

Robert Sauers, USAID Ethiopia

Achievements of our TB control efforts include strengthened TB program capacity at national and regional levels including enhancing private sector involvement in TB case detection , treatment and referral; expanded TB laboratory microscopy and culture capacity; community TB care; and MDR-TB service expansion. From 2005 to 2014, we helped Ethiopia improve the treatment success rate from 79 percent to more than 90 percent, increase the case detection rate from 33 percent to 62, and lower TB mortality from 73 to 32 per 100,000 (2005 and 2014 WHO Global TB reports). Through our support, Ethiopia has started the treatment of more than 1,600 MDR-TB patients since 2009. Furthermore, we continue to support the establishment of MDR-TB centers at selected regional and zonal hospitals as well as centers of excellence for diagnosis and management of multi-drug resistant and extensively drug resistant TB at two hospitals in Addis Ababa.

Activities Include

• Challenge TB: Provides support at a national and regional (Tigray and SNNP regions) levels and urban centers with a focus on urban poor, prisoners, migrant/mobile workers, pastoralists and miners (key populations) for TB treatment expansion and enhancement, TB/HIV collaboration, MDR-TB treatment and detection, health system strengthening, and program technical and management support.

Related Resources

• Hope Rises in the Midst of a Stigmatizing Disease: Tuberculosis [Blog]

Videos

• Story of Mary: TB is Curable [3:01]

• Zero Deaths from TB [4:17]

Related News

• The 12th National TB Research Annual Conference and Commemoration of World TB Day (March 28, 2017)

• USAID Reaffirms Partnership with Ethiopian Government to End TB (June 28, 2016)

• U.S. Government Extends Commitment to Combat Tuberculosis in Ethiopia (February 18, 2015)

• New Multi-Drug Resistant TB Facility Opens at Bishoftu Hospital (September 28, 2014)

• Remarks by USAID Mission Director: 9^th National TB Research Annual Conference and Commemoration of World TB Day (March 21, 2014)

• U.S. and Ethiopian Governments Launch Urban Health Program to Reach 1.6 Million Households (February 11, 2014)

• New USAID Project to Increase the Availability of Essential Health System Personnel in Ethiopia (October 13, 2012)