The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has granted the Eliminate TB from Ethiopia (ETBE) Project. Management Sciences for Health (MSH) will be in the lead of this five year project, aimed to increase access to early TB diagnosis and treatment and to alleviate unnecessary costs for patients. KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation (KNCV), together with three local organizations, will partner with MSH in ETBE to accelerate and sustain a decrease in TB incidence to achieve the World Health Organization’s End TB targets by 2035 and lay the groundwork to eliminate TB in Ethiopia by 2050.
Ethiopia has a population of 109 million people and is one of the 30 high burden TB countries in the world, as listed by the WHO. In 2018 an estimated 165,000 people suffered from TB in Ethiopia, making the TB incidence rate per 100,000 people 151. An estimated 1,600 people suffered from multidrug resistant TB. The WHO estimates 23,980 people died of TB in Ethiopia in 2018.
KNCV has a local office in Addis Ababa and has supported the national TB program with technical support since 2008. MSH is a long time partner of KNCV in Ethiopia.
ETBE
The ETBE project will support the government of Ethiopia to target case detection based on prevalence, introduce highly sensitive and specific diagnostic and screening tools, and boost prevention and treatment for latent TB infection. The project will also emphasize country ownership and sustainability, working with the Ethiopian government to more effectively mobilize and use domestic resources and to implement, manage, and report on all programmatic activities. ETBE will also engage communities, civil society organizations, and other private partners at the local level in TB prevention and control.
KNCV is also involved in multiple other TB-projects in Ethiopia:
ASCENT: The Unitaid-funded ASCENT project aims to help patients succeed in TB treatment using digital adherence technology. By generating evidence, establishing a global market and engaging stakeholders, ASCENT aims to make future scale up possible so that these digital innovations can be available to all TB patients worldwide. KNCV is in the lead of this project that runs from July 2019 – December 2022. ASCENT is implemented in Ethiopia, Tanzania, South-Africa, Philippines and Ukraine. More information: https://www.kncvtbc.org/en/ascent/
IMPAACT4TB: This Unitaid funded project (Sept 2017- August 2021) introduces a shorter and safer treatment for latent TB infection (LTBI) to prevent active TB, especially for the most vulnerable people such as children under five and people living with HIV. The Aurum Institute leads IMPAACT4TB. KNCV is the implementing partner in Ethiopia, Malawi, Indonesia and Tanzania. More information: https://www.impaact4tb.org/
PAVIA: This EDCTP-funded multi-country project is led by AIGHD and implemented jointly by KNCV, EFMHACA & AHRI for the period of April 2018 – March 2022. PAVIA aims to improve the readiness of Sub-Sahara Africa health system to effectively deliver new medical products and to monitor the post market safety, strengthening the pharmacovigilance arm of the aDSM approach. PAVIA is implemented in Nigeria, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Swaziland. More information: https://pavia-project.net/