Health Alliance International has announced the start of a USAID-funded Vital Strategies project as of January 2017. The goal of this two-year project, headed up by Dr. James Cowan, Acting Assistant Professor of Global Health and Allergy & Infectious Disease at UW, is to provide technical assistance to the Mozambican National Tuberculosis (TB) Program in order to establish a successful Drug- Resistant TB program in Mozambique.

Specifically, HAI will be supporting:

1. The implementation of a national GeneXpert MTB/RIF testing network;
2. The expansion of second line Line-Probe assays;
3. The introduction of new drugs and treatment regimens for DR-TB such as Bedaquiline, Delamanid, and short-course treatment regimens along with appropriate clinical education, supervision and monitoring;
4. The introduction of digitized, standardized databases for DR-TB patients; and
5.  A national drug resistance survey.

HAI has been working in collaboration with the Mozambican Ministry of Health to increase access to TB diagnostics and improve treatment initiation rates in Mozambique since 2011. This projects ensures this continued partnership.

Originally published by the Washington Global Health Alliance.