HANOI, November 25, 2015 -- Today, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced that Bedaquiline, the first new medication to fight drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) in over 40 years, is now available in Vietnam through its partnership with Janssen Therapeutics of Johnson & Johnson. This innovative partnership is a significant step forward in the global fight against the growing health threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Tuberculosis remains one of the most common communicable diseases in Vietnam with 130,000 new cases found and 17,000 deaths every year. As the public health burden of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is also prevalent, Vietnam is among the first countries in the world receiving the Bedaquiline donation to support its continuing efforts to fight the disease.

USAID Vietnam today joined the Ministry of Health of Vietnam - National Tuberculosis Program (NTP), KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation (KNCV) and other partners at an event in the National Lung Hospital to initiate the donation program with the delivery of treatment to more than 100 patients in the country fighting pre-extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) and XDR-TB. This event also kicked off the implementation of a shorter regimen (9-month regimen) for more cost-effective treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in Vietnam.

Building on 20 years of USAID’s support for TB in Vietnam, its current programs are focused on helping the NTP and the Vietnam Authority of HIV/AIDS Control detect TB earlier, improve TB treatment, enhance the laboratory network and prevent TB transmission. In line with the U.S. Government Global Tuberculosis Strategy 2015 – 2019, USAID provides technical support to the Vietnam NTP on four technical interventions: improving access to high-quality services; preventing TB transmission; strengthening the TB service network; and accelerating best practices to achieve World Health Organization End TB goals to eliminate the global TB epidemic.

For more information about our TB program, visit: http://go.usa.gov/cjkuj