TB advocates urge the Indian government to develop a concrete plan for introducing delamanid.
In an open letter sent to India's Prime Minister on 14 September 2017, TB advocates, alarmed by the slow progress of delamanid rollout in India, urged immediate development of a concrete plan for introducing the drug to Indian TB programs. “Yet, to our knowledge there is still no concrete plan or timeline made available by the RNTCP [Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program] for the introduction and scale up of this potentially life-saving medicine.”
TB advocates have demanded that the plan be finalized by 11 October 2017 and made public in advance of the 48th Union World Conference on Lung Health.
They also requested that representatives from civil society organizations and affected communities be included in all meetings and discussions around the introduction of delamanid in India, including on the expert committee that will develop the anticipated rollout plan.
The signatories requested a response to the letter by 25 September 2017.
To read the full letter, click here.