Speeches Shim
Booklet describing major tourist attractions of the Kyrgyz Republic. The booklet publication for the World Expo in Milan was supported by USAID.
The USAID Business Growth Initiative (BGI) Project is pleased to offer its first edition of our newsletter, through which we regularly communicate BGI activities with our implementing partners and our public and private sector counterparts. This edition will give you the latest updates on BGI’s activities and events, both past and future.
The Kyrgyz Republic has one of the highest rates of drug resistant tuberculosis in the world. Nevertheless, like their colleagues in other countries of the former Soviet Union, the Kyrgyz TB specialists are skeptical of the safety and effectiveness of outpatient care. For decades their TB programs mandated lengthy inpatient treatment under the assumption that hospitalization reduces the potential of TB transmission in the general public and guarantees treatment during the most critical phase of therapy.
To provide an evidence base for policy reform and national scale-up of ambulatory treatment in April 2012, the USAID Quality Health Care Project (QHCP) initiated a pilot project introducing outpatient treatment for TB patients in the Issyk-Ata district of Chui Oblast. The project trained local health personnel on modern standards of detection, diagnosis, treatment, patient education and counseling. The project also introduced the latest molecular diagnostics technology (GeneXpertTM) for rapid detection of TB and drug resistance among TB patients.
The Kyrgyz Republic is among 27 countries in the world with a very high burden of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). MDR-TB is a particularly dangerous type of tuberculosis that is often developed due to failure to complete the entire course of regular TB treatment. According to the national tuberculosis control program, MDR-TB is identified in 26% of all new cases of tuberculosis and in 55% of patients who previously received TB treatment. Tuberculosis requires a long and uncomfortable treatment regimen to be cured. The length of treatment and the unpleasant side effects of TB drugs make it a challenge for patients and healthcare workers to ensure successful completion.
Patient education and psychological and social support can improve adherence to difficult treatment regimens. The USAID Quality Health Care Project set up 12 Patient Support Groups (PSGs) for tuberculosis patients in different regions of the country to help them successfully complete treatment.
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