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Duration: 2014-2019

Implementing Partner: The Program is implemented by a consortium led by Abt Associates,Inc

Budget: $14,230,120

Key Partner: Ministry of Health of Kyrgyz Republic

Activity Locations: Countrywide

USAID’s Defeat TB Project is a five-year endeavor designed to reduce the burden of tuberculosis (TB) in the Kyrgyz Republic. Its implementation limits the development of drug-resistant strains of the disease, supports equitable access to quality health care for vulnerable groups, and strengthens the national healthcare system.

Defeating TB in the Kyrgyz Republic is an ambitious and complex undertaking. It requires adequate laws, up-to-date healthcare regulations, efficient financing, trained healthcare workers, accurate diagnostic systems, appropriate administration of TB medicines, and community support for patients. Abt Associates and its partners, FHI 360 and RPX, are committed to supporting Kyrgyzstan’s National Tuberculosis Program under the Ministry of Health in its efforts to defeat the disease in the country.

MAJOR FOCUS AREAS

  1. Improve general access to quality TB care and services, such as diagnosis and treatment.
  2. Strengthen the capacity of healthcare service providers to deliver on their mandate, including supporting the modernization of laboratories.
  3. Improve the quality of data pertaining to TB, as well as how this data is used.

 

EXPECTED IMPACT AND RESULTS

  • Since the start of the project, the TB incidence rate declined by 5%, and the TB mortality rate declined by 11%.
  • Trained more than 4,000 doctors, nurses, lab workers, and other healthcare workers on improved TB care.
  • Supported a move away from hospitalization of all TB patients towards internationally recommended outpatient treatment. The number of patients receiving outpatient treatment in pilot sites increased by 93 percent over the first three years of the Project.
  • Assisted the Kyrgyz government to adopt a national Road Map to restructure TB control, prevention, and treatment systems, which will make TB care more effective and efficient. The resulting $1million in annual savings will be used to improve infrastructures and buy medicine.
  • Ongoing digitalization of TB care business processes, and support the government to apply this to the whole healthcare system.
  • Introduction of results-based financing models in hospitals and primary healthcare facilities for improved treatment outcomes.
  • Introduced a new biomaterial transportation system that enables patients to get more accurate test results more quickly, and start their treatment sooner. Over 3,000 biological samples and 3 metric tons of medicine have been transported.
  • Reached more than 70,000 households in risk-prone areas to raise TB awareness and supported nearly 3,000 vulnerable patients to undergo treatment.  
  • Assisted healthcare facilities to correctly use GeneXpert, a system that reduces TB diagnosis from several weeks to only two hours, and provides drug sensitivity information for proper treatment. Additionally, supported the roll-out of the GxAlert system to collect and disseminate real-time results and data from GeneXpert operations.
  • Introduced a video teleconference system for expert TB committees (Consilliums), reducing the review time of complex TB cases from a few weeks to a few days.
  • Established a Quality Management System in laboratories which reduced the laboratory turnaround time from 7 days to just 3.
  • Trained 150 religious in leaders, including 25 women, in 5 oblast plus the city of Bishkek on the basics of tuberculosis diagnosis, prevention, and treatment so they can teach their congregations on the matter.
  • Ongoing roll out of advanced genotyping technologies to accurately trace TB transmission chains in hospitals and in affected communities.
  • Through partnerships with US based manufacturers, imported and distributed 15 metric tons of medical supplies to healthcare facilities across 28 rayons.

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USAID helped to strengthen TB labs across the Kyrgyz Republic to meet rigorous international standards.
USAID helped to strengthen TB labs across the Kyrgyz Republic to meet rigorous international standards.
Olivier Le Blanc