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.

New public health guidance from NICE published today, ahead of World TB day (24 March), provides a blueprint for improving the way tuberculosis (TB) is identified and managed among groups of people who are hard to reach through traditional health care services.

The National TB Leprosy Control Programme has said that there are over 81,000 newly recorded cases of Tuberculosis in Nigeria.

The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Fatim Badjie last Thursday presided over the commemoration of World Tuberculosis Day at the Ministry's conference room, under the slogan, 'Stop TB in my life'.

Speaking at an event where South African Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe urged the mining industry to take greater steps to address tuberculosis (TB) and HIV among its employees, Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu "announced that mining companies, whose HIV, TB and workplace safety policies are being audited by her department, will have to submit their policies as a prerequisite for renewing their mining licenses," PlusNews reports. "According to Shabangu, South Africa's mining sector sees three times as many cases of active TB as the general population," the news service writes.   

Saturday, March 24, was World Tuberculosis (TB) Day. The following is a summary of several editorials, opinion pieces, and blog posts published in recognition of the day.

Maputo — Tuberculosis remains a serious public health problem in Mozambique, particularly because of combined HIV/tuberculosis infection and the rise of strains of the disease that are multi-drug resistant, according to the Health Ministry.

A low CD4 cell count is associated with more severe forms of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), US investigators report in the online edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases. The mortality rate among patients with this form of disease was high.

"Almost a thousand Swazi and South African HIV activists marched to the United States consulate in Johannesburg on [Thursday] to demand that the U.S. continue supporting the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria, and safeguard funding of its President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)," PlusNews reports. "The march organizers -- a coalition of international and regional HIV organizations, including the global medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the World AIDS Campaign, and the AIDS Rights Alliance Southern Africa -- also called on the British and Australian governments to join their American counterparts in kick-starting a response to solve the Global Fund's financial crisis," according to the news service.