Russia: Several regional hospitals face stock-outs of TB medicines

Representatives of Russian NGOs say that several regional hospitals face stock-outs of TB medicines, which in turn may lead to a mortality increase among TB-infected patients. This situation, according to them, is closely linked to the refusal of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation (MSHD) to accept aid from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The Fund was ready to donate $127 mln to the Russian Federation, but in response Russia itself expressed its willingness to become a donor of the Global Fund.