Red Cross and USAID Team Up to Fight TB in Russia

In the News

Red Cross and USAID Team Up to Fight TB in Russia

Written by Christina Ward, Staff Writer, RedCross.org

November 30, 2001 — Highly contagious and often fatal, tuberculosis (TB) is the most deadly infectious disease in the world, taking the lives of 2 million people a year. Already a widespread problem in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the disease is now spreading through Eastern Europe after years of decline. In Russia alone, about 130,000 new cases of TB emerge each year, killing some 30,000 people. As part of a global effort by health officials and humanitarian organizations to eradicate TB, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has received a $3.4 million grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to battle the disease in Russia.

Patient
Tuberculosis is the world's leading curable infectious killer.

The USAID grant will fund a new three-year anti-tuberculosis program, led by Red Cross health experts and volunteers. Its focus will be on marginalized Russian groups, such as the homeless, alcoholics, prisoners and ex-prisoners. The anti-TB program will work to introduce international principles of TB control, as outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO).

WHO advocates a system called DOTS in fighting TB around the world. DOTS, or "Directly Observed Treatment, Short-Course," combines the most up-to-date anti-TB medication with close monitoring of patients by health officials. During the first two months — the intensive treatment phase — patients undergo nonstop "directly observed therapy" to ensure that the drugs are taken in the right combinations and for the appropriate duration. The next stage of treatment continues regular monitoring through visits with health professionals.

DOTS addresses a problem common among TB patients in impoverished areas or prisons. If a patient does not take all of their drugs for the prescribed period of time, he or she can develop a resistance to the disease — possibly leading to the development of drug-resistant strains of TB.

Federation leaders report that in Russian prisons, 10 percent of the detainees have tuberculosis. "The [USAID-funded] program will strengthen links between TB work in prisons and civil society. This is vital not only to achieve good treatment results, but also to reduce the multi-drug resistant strains of the disease," said Dr. Hakan Hellberg, TB advisor with the Federation. Multi-drug resistant TB is an extremely dangerous form of the disease, and it is much more expensive to treat.

Patient
A nurse from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies monitors a TB patient.

Officials at USAID said they provided the grant to increase anti-TB efforts at the local level, within individual communities in Russia.

"We believe that non-governmental organizations have a very important role to play in the control of tuberculosis in Russia," said Carol Peasley, director of the USAID Mission in Russia. "Capacity building at the regional level is one of the main objectives of this grant."

A smaller Russian Red Cross anti-TB program that began two years ago has proved effective, with 20,000 TB patients treated and monitored by 100 visiting nurses. The Red Cross nurses also provide critical nutritional and social support on an ongoing basis.

Since 1998, the Federation has been working closely with Red Cross and Red Crescent national societies and WHO to control the TB epidemic in Eastern Europe. These efforts were initially intended to serve as pilot projects to gain experience and to provide assistance to patients and their families. Because of the recent dramatic rise in the disease in that region of the world, Red Cross officials now report that there is an urgent need to scale up activities to have a greater impact on the epidemic.

Patient
Home visits are a key part of existing Red Cross anti-TB programs.

World TB Day is observed each year on March 24, the anniversary of the date in 1882 when the TB-causing bacteria was discovered. The theme for World TB Day 2002 will be "Stop TB, Fight Poverty." According to the WHO's Stop TB Initiative Web site, "The 2002 theme is a call to the global community to expand DOTS treatment, increase access to treatment and to stop TB." According to WHO experts, tuberculosis most often hits people living in poverty and who can least resist it. If appropriately used, the DOTS program is highly effect, WHO reports.

Speaking earlier this year as part of World TB Day 2001, Dr. Bradley Hersh, a Red Cross TB expert, expressed his support for DOTS. "The DOTS strategy is very effective. About 95 percent of patients can be cured in six to eight months on DOTS, and the best way to prevent the spread of TB is through full treatment of TB cases."

Related links:

All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. The Red Cross also supplies nearly half of the nation's lifesaving blood. This, too, is made possible by generous voluntary donations. You can help those affected by this crisis and countless others around the world each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which will provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need. You can make a secure online credit card donation or call 1-800-HELP NOW (1-800-435-7669) or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Or you may send your donation to your local Red Cross or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013. To donate blood, please call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE (1-800-448-3543), or contact your local Red Cross to find out about upcoming blood drives.