CaP TB Lessons Learned
November 9, 2022 – Washington, D.C. Between 2017 to 2021 EGPAF implemented the Catalyzing Pediatric Tuberculosis project (CaP-TB). Supported by Unitaid, the project sought to tackle the childhood TB crisis in nine sub-Saharan African countries and India by enacting models to find, prevent, and effectively treat TB in children. According to the WHO, children account for 11% of the TB burden but only four out of every 10 are ever reached. Additionally, children living with HIV accounted for approximately 11%f children living with HIV accounting for TB deaths. “As an organization committed to ending AIDS in children, CaP-TB has clearly demonstrated that in order to achieve an AIDS-free generation, we must confront and end the clear and ever-present health crisis of childhood TB,” said EGPAF President and CEO Chip Lyons.
TB in children is treatable and preventable, provided it is diagnosed on time. Unfortunately, the global health community is failing to find the majority of children with TB, as data from the WHO’s 2022 global tuberculosis report shows that only 40% of the slightly more than one million children suspected to have TB were reported in 2020. “To succeed in giving children a heathy start in life we must heighten efforts to find and treat TB early,” Lyons stated.
Global health leaders must actively and systematically support the search and preventive treatment for children at risk of contracting active TB rather than wait for them to present with symptoms or signs of active TB. CaP-TB showed that a community-based model to identify, screen, and offer preventive treatment for children exposed to TB within the household, is effective in ensuring that child contacts initiate and complete preventive therapy. Therefore, to more effectively reach more children with or at risk of developing active forms of TB, CaP-TB suggests that TB screenings must be incorporated into existing childcare units such as maternal and child health (MCH), nutrition, outpatient and inpatient departments, as well as HIV and AIDS services.
“Children have been neglected by the TB response for far too long. Unitaid and EGPAF have proven an effective package of tools and strategies that can reach children at-risk with prevention and treatment. Implemented widely, these models have the potential to avert countless cases of illness and deaths from TB,” said Dr Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid.
As compelling as CaP TB findings are, they are only effective if they are thoughtfully implemented. CaP-TB offers vital lessons in the fight against childhood TB and provides insightful suggestions as to how the global health community can more effectively reach more children who might otherwise fall through the cracks. “Through valuable partnerships like the one we have with Unitaid for projects such as CaP-TB, EPGAF is better positioned to take the steps needed to end childhood TB and achieve an AIDS-free generation once and for all,” Lyons said.
About the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF)
EGPAF is a proven leader in the fight for an AIDS-free generation and has reached over 31 million pregnant women with services to prevent transmission of HIV to their babies. Founded in 1988, EGPAF has supported over 15,000 sites and currently works in 19 countries to offer HIV counseling, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment services alongside high-quality family health care. Each stage of life—from infancy to adulthood—brings new and different challenges, and EGPAF is driven to see a world where no other mother, child, or family is devastated by this disease. For more information, visit pedaids.org.
CONTACT:
Daniel Pino, Manager, Media Relations & External Engagement
dpino@pedaids.org
