El Salvador
Although El Salvador is not one of the 22 high-burden
tuberculosis countries listed by the World Health Organization
(WHO), TB nevertheless remains a public health problem. In
2002, the country reported more than 3,800 infectious TB
cases for an estimated incidence rate of 60 cases per 100,000
population. While multidrug-resistant TB is not yet a serious
problem, HIV/AIDS and TB-HIV
co-infections are on the rise.
The main providers of TB services in El
Salvador are the Ministry of Health (MOH)
and the Social Security system. The WHO recommended
Directly Observed Therapy,
Short-Course (DOTS) strategy has achieved
100 percent population coverage through the
MOH health facilities network. The government
is aiming to extend DOTS coverage by
further engaging the Social Security health
network, the military, and the private sector.
USAID Approach and Key Activities
USAID has supported TB activities in El Salvador since 1999. USAID, with its partner the Tuberculosis
Coalition for Technical Assistance (TBCTA), will design and implement a program that will strengthen TB
prevention and control, improve the National TB Program (NTP), and make the NTP more sustainable.
USAID's key activities include strengthening the NTP's management of TB control and prevention and assisting
in the expansion of the DOTS strategy beyond the MOH health facilities network to the Social Security
health network, the military, and the private sector. Between 2001 and 2004, USAID funds for TB programming
in El Salvador averaged about $366,000 per year.
USAID Program Achievements
The main achievements of USAID/El Salvador's TB program include the following:
- Helped the MOH achieve an 88 percent treatment success rate and an impressive 85 percent cure rate in
2002, thus meeting WHO standards and making the NTP a model for Latin America
- Provided more than 70 laboratories across the country with diagnostic equipment
- Extended DOTS treatment protocols to all MOH departments
- Introduced TB principles into the curricula of the medical and nursing facilities of the University of El
Salvador, a unique educational intervention that sets an excellent example for other countries to model
Case Detection and Treatment Success Rates Under DOTS
Partnerships
USAID's partners in TB control in El Salvador include
the NTP, the Pan American Health Organization
(PAHO), and TBCTA. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria has awarded El Salvador $3.3
million over five years for efforts to address TB coinfection
in HIV/AIDS patients and for an information,
education, and communication campaign to increase
case detection and program efficiency.
December 2004
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