Children affected with tuberculosis (TB) can now take new child friendly TB drugs following the launch of a new project today in Port Moresby to help children with the disease.
The project is being trialed for 12 months at the Port Moresby General Hospital and involves TB medication designed for children that requires few pills (two) each day.
Children will no longer take medications designed for adults that are difficult to swallow, need to be cut in half or crushed, and have an unpleasant taste.
These dissolvable tablets have sweet flavours and accurate dosages specially manufactured for children.
The drugs have been released less than a year ago and PNG is the fourth country to use these drugs apart from Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo and Myanmar.
PNG Paediatric Society (PNGPS) President, Dr Henry Welch said everyone knows the challenges PNG faces in addressing TB but to be one of the first countries to use the drugs is amazing.
Welch said this is an example of how effective the Department of Health and the national TB program can be.
“To have medicines that are better formulated to treat children with TB has been a long time coming but we know that’s not the only thing that’s needed to effectively treat TB in children,” Welch said.
Australia has provided K542,000 toward the pilot project which will be used to purchase and distribute the drugs and develop protocols for roll out across the country.
The treatment for TB takes at least six months with children required to take multiple pills daily.
Australia High Commission counsellor for health and HIV, Christine Sturrock said that any means of making this process easier and better adapted to children’s needs and tastes is welcome.
The project will eventually be rolled out to across the country following the success of the pilot project in Moresby.
The roll out of the project is led by PNGPS in partnership with World Health Organisation, National Department of Health, Port Moresby General Hospital, NCD Health, the Baylor College of Medicine Texas Children’s Hospital Program and Exxon Mobil.