The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
UNITAID and partners announce new preventive treatment for latent Tuberculosis
A price reduction of 70%, a much shorter treatment and 3 times fewer weekly pills are the advantages of a new preventive treatment for latent Tuberculosis (TB) that UNITAID and its partners have started to roll out a few days ahead of World Tuberculosis Day (24 March).
“UNITAID is happy to inform you about a new treatment at a very important reduced cost”, said Hervé Verhoosel, Spokesperson for UNITAID. “The new treatment that we want to talk about costs 70 % less than the previous treatments. It is called Rifapentine and by negotiating the new price with the private sector, UNITAID and the UNITAID partners will basically give access to that medicine to more than 100 countries at the price of 15 USD instead of 45 USD”.
The WHO recommends the use of this regimen for treatment of latent TB infection in people living with HIV and contacts of TB cases of any age. Research shows that patients are far more likely to complete shorter treatment courses.
“This treatment started to be rolled out in 5 TB high burden countries in Africa: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Mozambique”, said UNITAID’s spokesperson when talking to journalists at the United Nations in Geneva.
People with active TB can infect 10–15 other people through close contact over the course of a year. Without proper treatment, 45% of HIV-negative people with TB and nearly all HIV-positive people with TB will die.
“Despite being preventable and curable, tuberculosis is one of the deadliest infectious disease in the world killing 1.5 million people each year including more than 250 000 people living with HIV”, informed Mr. Verhoosel.
It is estimated that in 2019 around 10.0 million people fell ill with TB - a number that has been declining very slowly in recent years. 5.7 million are men, 3.2 million women and 1.1 million children. Most of them live in low- and middle-income countries.
“Geographically, South-East Asia represents (44%) of the TB cases followed by Africa with 25% and the Western Pacific with 18%”, said UNITAID’s spokesperson. He added that “eight countries accounted for two thirds of the TB cases in the world: India with 26%, Indonesia with 8.5%, followed by China, the Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh and South Africa”.
The COVID-19 pandemic threatens to reverse recent progress in reducing the global burden of TB disease. Due to disruption in health services, the global number of TB deaths could increase by around 200 000 to 400 000 in 2020 alone, should the number of people with TB could not be treated.
However, despite the pandemic, “UNITAID expects that more than 3 million patients could be treated with that new drug in 2021”, said Mr. Verhoosel.
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, nations’ flags flying, a sunny day.
- Wide shot, podium with speakers in a near-empty Room XIV in line with COVID-19 distancing measures, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Hervé Verhoosel, Spokesperson UNITAID: “UNITAID is happy to inform you about a new treatment at a very important reduced cost. The new treatment that we want to talk about costs 70 % less than the previous treatments. It is called Rifapentine and by negotiating the new price with the private sector, UNITAID and the UNITAID partners will basically give access to that medicine to more than 100 countries at the price of 15 USD instead of 45 USD”.
- Wide shot, podium with speakers, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Hervé Verhoosel, Spokesperson UNITAID: “This treatment started to be rolled out in 5 TB high burden countries in Africa: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Mozambique”.
- Wide shot, UNTV camera, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Hervé Verhoosel, Spokesperson UNITAID: “Despite being preventable and curable, tuberculosis is one of the deadliest infectious disease in the world killing 1.5 million people each year including more than 250 000 people living with HIV”.
- Medium shot, journalist with laptop, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Hervé Verhoosel, Spokesperson UNITAID: “Geographically, South-East Asia represents (44%) of the TB cases followed by Africa with 25% and the Western Pacific with 18%”.
- Wide shot, press briefing room, Palais des Nations
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Hervé Verhoosel, Spokesperson UNITAID: “Eight countries accounted for two thirds of the TB cases in the world: India with 26%, Indonesia with 8.5%, followed by China, the Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh and South Africa”.
- Wide shot, journalist in press briefing room, Palais des Nations
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Hervé Verhoosel, Spokesperson UNITAID: “UNITAID expects that more than 3 million patients could be treated with that new drug in 2021”.
- Medium-wide shot, journalist with mask, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- Wide shot, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- Medium shot, journalists in Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango today told the bi-weekly UN press briefing in Geneva of more details that are emerging on the atrocities committed in El Fasher, in Sudan during and after its takeover by the Rapid Support Forces.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , WHO
Sudan: UN Raises Alarm Over Mass Atrocities in El Fasher as Survivors Report Executions, Killings and Rapes
More details continue to emerge about atrocities committed during and after the fall of El Fasher to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan on 23 October. Since the powerful paramilitary group made a major incursion into the city last week, the UN Human Rights Office has received “horrendous accounts of summary executions, mass killings, rapes, attacks against humanitarian workers, looting, abductions and forced displacement,” said Seif Magango, spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
Ukraine: Russian attacks on energy terrorize population as winter starts; could trigger major ‘crisis within crisis’
The UN’s top aid official in Ukraine expressed concern on Friday about “continuous attacks” on energy production sites and distribution facilities.
1
1
1
Edited News | HRC
Navi Pillay Retires After Decades Defending Human Rights and Pursuing Justice
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The telecommunications shutdowns in Afghanistan in September had serious and far-reaching impacts on people’s lives, according to a briefing paper published today by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence at the UN Geneva press briefing made the following comment on the ASEAN declaration on the right to a healthy environment.
1
1
1
Edited News | IFRC , OCHA , WMO
‘Catastrophic’ Hurricane Melissa hours from landfall in Jamaica as humanitarians rush to save lives
Millions in Jamaica and across the Caribbean are bracing for massive impact from Hurricane Melissa on Tuesday as the UN and partners are warning of a “severe” and “immediate” humanitarian threat.
1
1
Edited News | WHO
‘We need all routes to open’: in Gaza WHO calls for ramp-up of medevacs, easier access for essentials
Two weeks since a ceasefire agreement entered into force in Gaza the World Health Organization (WHO) noted progress on the flow of aid while calling for more evacuations of critical patients and eased entry for essential medicines and supplies.
1
12
1
1
Edited News | WMO , UNITED NATIONS
UN chief urges boost to life-saving weather warning systems, stresses role of climate change science
No country is safe from the devastating impacts of extreme weather — and saving lives means making early-warning systems accessible to all, UN chief António Guterres said on Wednesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Gazans’ response to food distributions ‘overwhelming’ as humanitarians scale up under fragile ceasefire
In Gaza, the ceasefire is enabling UN humanitarians to reach more desperate people with life-saving food, but greater access is needed to contain the spread of famine.