A Push Towards Recovery
USAID addresses COVID-19’s impact on the global TB response
Along with COVID-19, tuberculosis, or TB, is one of the world’s top two infectious diseases killers, taking 1.5 million lives a year.
In just two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has erased years of progress on the global TB response. There have been alarming drops in the number of people tested and treated for TB, and according to the World Health Organization, TB deaths have increased for the first time in a decade.
To mitigate this, USAID has supported urgent TB recovery efforts focused on increasing access to and improving the quality of TB services in countries most impacted by these declines, which are mainly in Asia. Working alongside governments, the Global Fund, and other partners, these initiatives have helped countries recover lost ground in the global fight to end TB.
In the Philippines, there was a 38 percent decline in reported TB cases in 2020, compared to 2019. This decline was in part due to fewer people accessing healthcare services amid lockdowns and COVID-19 fears, and the prioritization of responding to COVID-19 over TB.
To address this, USAID has provided additional resources for finding TB cases. Our support includes increasing community outreach activities; deploying nurses, midwives, and other community workers to screen for TB; and delivering medicines to people with TB who are unable to visit health centers. Since those with TB are more vulnerable to COVID-19 and can spread TB to others, it’s critical to ensure they stick with their treatment.
Dr. Hanicarl Buhay is the medical coordinator of the Batangas Medical Center TB clinic, where USAID has intensified TB case-finding efforts by screening all outpatient department visitors and their companions; offering screening to the clinic’s high-risk groups, like community transport drivers; and enabling those with TB to continue their treatment from home.
“We were greatly affected by the lockdown. But thankfully we are still able to continue our services up to this day while health protocols are still in place.
We still maintained operations from 9–5, but in order to accommodate our patients, we gave them enough medication for a month, or a month and a half, as long as they could follow compliance. We even set up a Facebook page where they can easily contact us and our staff.” — Dr. Buhay
Efforts like these have helped the country diagnose and treat more people with TB, recovering some lost ground. Based on preliminary data, TB case notifications in the Philippines increased by nearly 20 percent from 2020 to 2021.
In Bangladesh, there was a 21 percent decline in TB case notifications in 2020, as compared to 2019. Given the challenges Bangladesh faced due to COVID-19, USAID swiftly pivoted and developed a range of interventions to help identify and treat more people with TB. Efforts have included simultaneously testing for TB and COVID-19; screening for TB within large industries and public and private health facilities; addressing health worker staff shortages; and extending laboratory hours to facilitate more testing. Specifically, USAID conducted a rapid assessment that identified 18 districts with the most missing TB cases. As such, USAID invested recovery resources in a targeted manner.
These efforts have enabled Bangladesh’s TB program to successfully restore TB diagnosis and care services, despite the ongoing impacts of the pandemic. Based on preliminary reports, the country is expected to report a more than 30 percent increase in TB case notifications in 2021, as compared to 2020.
While there is still progress to be made, USAID’s recovery efforts are working to reverse COVID-19’s severe impact on the global TB response. USAID is committed to building countries’ airborne infection defense capacities to respond to future airborne pandemics and save lives.
About the Author
Andrea Gavin is the Senior Communications Advisor for Tuberculosis in the Infectious Disease Office in USAID’s Bureau for Global Health.
