Cure Tuberculosis conference held in Bishkek

Bishkek, Oct.28, 2019 /Kabar/. Bishkek hosted the official opening of the five-year USAID Cure Tuberculosis Project in the Kyrgyz Republic, which should be considered as another stage of long-term cooperation between the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The main objectives of the project are to develop and implement tools, resources and conditions for the full implementation of the following areas:

• Improvement the detection of drug-resistant tuberculosis cases by improving laboratory and diagnostic services and improving the ability to track contacts of identified patients in their communities and medical organizations;
• Improvement of treatment of patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis through the introduction of modern treatment regimes with the use of new anti-tuberculosis drugs and the formation of social and psychological conditions that motivate full recovery;
• Improvement of infection control measures in TB medical organizations and laboratories in accordance with international standards in order to minimize the risk of infection for both patients and medical workers;
• Creation of a favourable environment for the elimination of tuberculosis: formation of the state policy on tuberculosis; introduction of a new system of financing of anti-tuberculosis services; formation of a positive public attitude in order to reduce stigma and discrimination against tuberculosis patients with a special focus on socially vulnerable patients.

Thus, Kyrgyzstan, which is one of the 30 countries with the highest burden of drug-resistant TB (DR TB) in the world, intends to continue its earlier policy of reforms in the TB service within the framework of the Tuberculosis 5 National Programme, which has been carried out in the country over the past five years with the technical support of USAID.

The budget of the USAID Cure Tuberculosis Project in the Kyrgyz Republic is USD 18,450,292. The Project is implemented by JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI) in partnership with University Research Co., LLC (URC).

Key partners from the Kyrgyz Republic are the Ministry of Health, the National Center for Physiology, the Government's Compulsory Health Insurance Fund, the Republican Center for Health Promotion, local governments, non-governmental organizations, and civil society.