Health threatened: MDR patients stop visiting centres after incentives rolled back

NTCP allegedly suspends allowances for care givers, not patients

PESHAWAR: Tuberculosis (TB) patients with multi-drug resistance (MDR) have stopped visiting treatment centres after incentives offered to them were suspended.

Officials privy to the development told The Express Tribune MDR patients in the provincial capital decided against visiting treatment centres after National Tuberculosis Control Programme (NTCP) withdrew incentives offered to MDR patients. In the past, patients were provided travel allowances and ration.



Speaking to The Express Tribune on Sunday, a health expert said, “Halting incentives for MDR patients will risk their lives.”

He added over 400 MDR patients are currently registered with the programme who were being provided ration and travelling allowance.

“When the ration supply was stopped and the allowance reduced from Rs1,000 to Rs600, the number of MDR patients showing up at treatment centres gradually decreased,” he added.

The other side

When contacted, Professor Dr Arshad Javed, who oversees the programme, told The Express Tribune the Global Fund issues funds to NTCP.

He said the package - comprising a travel allowance worth Rs1,000 along with ration - was announced for both patients and their care givers who accompany them every month to the centres. The patient receives Rs600 under the allowance while the remaining amount is for the supporter.

“However, the amount and ration for the care giver was considered an additional burden and was therefore stopped,” Javed said. “Now only Rs600 is being provided for the patient, which has resulted in patients refusing to visit centres for treatment.”

However, Javed added only a few MDR patients are reluctant to visit the centres.

Ray of light

Patients faced additional disappointments after support from provincial TB control programme ended on December 31, 2015. As a result, the K-P government extended support by issuing Rs200 million to run the programme. The programme is also being funded by global entities and with assistance from the K-P government; it can continue to operate until 2017.

The government grant was issued soon after German bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KFW), major financer of the programme, closed its operation last year. KFW had been directly funding the health department and provided Rs14 million over the last decade.

The number of patients diagnosed with TB in K-P until 2014 was 45,369 including 520 patients with MDR. The annual treatment for each
MDR patient costs around Rs1 million - much higher than the treatment for TB.

 Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2016.