India must address worrying stock out of tuberculosis drugs, says MSF

The Indian government must urgently address the persistent issues and almost routine delays of procuring drugs to treat tuberculosis, says the international medical humanitarian organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). The issues are behind a worrying stock out of TB drugs which the country is currently experiencing.

"As a country with such a high burden of tuberculosis, MSF is deeply disturbed that India is experiencing stock outs of critically needed drugs to treat children and those with drug-resistant TB,” said Leena Menghaney, India manager of MSF’s Access Campaign, adding: “In this instance, it’s a stock out that can cost people’s lives and the government must act urgently to fix the problems.”

India is currently experiencing stock outs across the country of both pediatric TB drugs and those used to treat drug-resistant TB (DR-TB). Under India's public TB treatment program, the central government is responsible for buying drugs and distributing them to the states which then provide treatment.