As announced at the recent UNGA HLM on Tuberculosis, USAID has initiated a $15 million project to support procurement of 3HP (isoniazid and rifapentine), a three-month, once-weekly oral TB preventive treatment (TPT). The 3HP fixed dose combination (FDC) tablets have seen a significant 30% price reduction with the Stop TB Partnership’s (STBP) Global Drug Facility's (GDF) most recent tender – lowering an adult treatment course from $14.25 to $9.99. This new price and USAID procurement support should help to expedite access to optimized regimens towards achieving the new global TB prevention targets. The project will be implemented by the Stop TB Partnership’s Global Drug Facility.
Where is USAID Focusing Its Efforts?
Currently, the focus of this program is scaling up TPT use in household contacts in the 24 high-burden priority TB countries[1] which receive bi-lateral support through USAID. All 24 countries’ National TB Programs are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity. USAID Country Missions, USAID/W and STP GDF are available to address any question and provide support with quantification, forecasting and the procurement process as needed. For further information, please contact: TPT@stoptb.org
Are there specific criteria or provisions to address?
Eligible and interested countries should consider the following:
- All non-PLHIV contacts (>2yrs of age) of individuals with TB are the primary target population for the donation with the intent to scale-up significantly TPT among these populations. As announced during the recent UNGA HLM on TB, PEPFAR has joined USAID in making available additional $10M specifically for PLHIV populations.
- Leveraging other sources of funding, particularly domestic resources, for co-financing of TPT procurements will be a strong consideration.
- Provision of quarterly data to USAID and GDF on the utilization of the 3HP donation and achieved treatment outcomes. Reporting on data elements will be communicated with countries upon final approval and order placement. The reporting burden, however will be minimal and include only the most essential data elements for accountability purposes. It is imperative, however, that 3HP funded via this mechanism be utilized in the next 12-18 months.
How can a country access this program?
As a first step, please send an email expressing interest to TPT@stoptb.org. GDF’s Regional Technical Advisors will also be proactively reaching out to countries that are eligible.
What is the implementation timeline?
The project commences immediately. Eligible and interested countries should express their interest by December 20, 2023. USAID will take swift decisions on how to allocate available funding across countries. National TB Programs should be ready to implement 3HP upon receipt of delivery, with all medicines utilized withing 12-18 months. Once the existing funding is exhausted, any additional support would be contingent on availability of additional funding. Therefore, countries are encouraged to apply as soon as they can to benefit from this opportunity.
Whom should we contact with any questions or for implementation/technical support?
Please reach out to: TPT@stoptb.org
[1] 24 USAID TB Priority Countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, DRC, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Kyrgyz Republic, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Ukraine, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
