Suva: Fiji’s Ministry of Health and the Global Fund have signed a $9 million agreement to help reduce tuberculosis in Fiji.
Minister for Health Dr Neil Sharma said the grant will contribute to upgrading laboratory systems in the main divisional facilities, supporting the national TB program and strengthening the health information systems.
“A significant aspect of the project is the overseeing of the treatment of around 650 TB patients over the past five years and the screening and distribution of TB prophylaxis to more than 750 children in contact with infectious patients,” said Sharma.
He said the ministry being the principal recipient will work with the sub-recipients including the Fiji Red Cross Society, the Fiji Nursing Association and the Fiji School of Medicine and nursing programs under the College of Medicine, the Nursing and Health Sciences of the Fiji National University, the National TB program, the National Reference Laboratory, the Fiji Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Service Centre and The Health Information Unit.
The programme will be carried out over the next 27months.
The Global Fund is a multi-billion-dollar international financing mechanism intended to help advance the fight against diseases such as TB, AIDS and malaria.
