US offers Vietnam tuberculosis tools and medications
PSNews - The US Agency for International Development (USAID) on February 16 presented a range of equipment and vital drugs costing US$3 million to the National Lung Hospital of Vietnam in order to support the country in its diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB).
The donation includes 38 rapid diagnostic machines with 90,000 compatible test kits and 10 digital X-ray devices to be distributed to district health facilities across the country, including in the remote provinces of Nghe An, Lai Chau, An Giang, and Dong Thap, which have high burden of TB and multidrug-resistant TB.
Both the rapid diagnostic machines and the X-ray devices are designed to operate in hard-to-reach areas. The rapid diagnostic machines, called Truenat, can perform on-the-spot detection of TB and drug-resistant TB in less than two hours and are battery powered.
The digital X-ray devices are ultra-portable, with computer-aided TB detection software to assist in areas where radiologists may not be present. The donation also includes drugs to treat 15,000 patients with latent TB infection for three months, to be distributed nationwide.
In addition, USAID is funding a tailored package of training curricula and technical support to the National Tuberculosis Program, health facility staff and local partners. This will help ensure greater sustainability of efforts to enhance Vietnam’s active case detection, ensure accurate and timely diagnosis, and support linkages to treatment of active and latent TB.
In Vietnam, approximately 40% of new TB cases go undetected and untreated every year. Since 2018, USAID has provided Vietnam with over $16 million in TB health assistance.
