Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has commenced the operation of the Tuberculosis and Multi-Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (TB/MDR) Centre in Banaadir region, Mogadishu, in co-ordination with the Somali Ministry of Health (MoH), World Health Organisation (WHO), World Vision and the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC).
The initiative is part of the efforts to enhance the health sector in Somalia, QRCS has said in a statement.
The centre is the only TB treatment hub in the eastern, central and southern parts of the country, with just one counterpart in Hargeisa, northern Somalia. Access to TB centres in neighbouring countries is also largely limited.
By contributing to Mogadishu’s centre, QRCS seeks to reduce and control the morbidity and mortality caused by TB and MDR-TB by introducing and scaling up intervention, diagnosis and management.
Lasting one year, the first phase of the project will cost around $445,000 (QR1,620,000), co-funded by QRCS and World Vision. It targets treating 1,640 TB and MDR-TB patients and protecting 30,000 patient close-contact families.
The activities conducted so far include full rehabilitation, equipment and furnishing of the centre’s buildings, as well as operation and establishment of the TB management team, promoting capacity building for health personnel, patient support, operational TB/MDR-TB research and medical and paramedical training.
After registering the patients, samples were taken and sent to the reference TB laboratory in Kampala, Uganda, where they were to be tested for disease verification and diagnosis.
Under an agreement with the MoH National Tuberculosis Programme (NTP), 18 patients were sampled and the examination results are expected within two weeks.
Confirmed patients will undergo a two-year treatment programme. More patients will be enrolled over the coming weeks.
This burden of TB/MDR-TB is very high in the country. According to NTP data, MDR-TB was revealed by 5.6% among new cases and 46% among previously treated cases. These MDR prevalence rates would place Somalia as one of the highest MDR-TB burden countries in the region.
The nearest TB management centres for TB/MDR-TB for Somalis are in Nairobi (Kenya) and Kampala, where only patients who are legally residents of these countries are enrolled.
Although many factors could be blamed for drug resistance in Somalia, the main causes in both new and previously treated TB cases are likely poor drug quality, poor storage conditions, wrong dosage, absence of or non-adherence to guidelines, poor training and absence of government regulations.