Treatment Action Group (TAG), the Global Tuberculosis Community Advisory Board (CAB), the DR-TB Scale-Up Treatment Action Team (DR-TB STAT), and TB Proof hosted a webinar on Thursday, August 16, 2018 to discuss the evidence for and importance of using bedaquiline-based, injectable-free regimens for drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB). Perspectives from an implementing country—South Africa, a country considering implementation—Kenya, and a survivor of TB and hearing loss—Phumeza Tisile, were featured. Speakers discussed the rationale for, roll out, and impact of injectable-free regimens, implementation considerations, and the importance of considering patients’ preferences and avoiding injectable drug-induced hearing loss.

In an exciting update, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a rapid communication recommending injectable-free, bedaquiline-based regimens on Friday, August 17.

TAG and the TB CAB have issued a statement welcoming the recommendation of injectable-free, bedaquiline-based regimens, encouraging their scale up, and urging WHO and partners to address key concerns regarding the continued recommendation of the shorter regimen and the practical implementation of these new policy changes in the immediate short-term and beyond.

Panelists:

• Dr. Nobert Ndjeka, Director, Drug-Resistant TB, TB, & HIV, National Department of Health in South Africa
• Dr. Eunice Omesa, Section Head for Monitoring, Evaluation & Research from the Ministry of Health in Kenya
• Phumeza Tisile, TB survivor and TB PROOF management committee member

Q&A moderated by: Khairunisa Suleiman, technical co-lead of the Global TB Community Advisory Board

Webinar Video

Questions about what to do for children under 12 years old in need of treatment for DR-TB, have been addressed by the Sentinel Project on pediatric DR-TB in the following resource: Recommendations for Injectable-Free Regimens in Children with Rifampin-Resistant TB.