Tuberculosis (TB) is a major killer disease in children.
It is caused by bacteria that spread through the air when an untreated person with active TB coughs or sneezes. It can easily spread within the home, especially from a family member to a child. Children can also get TB from an infected person at school or any other place the child spends his/her time.
Infants and young children are at special risk of having severe and often fatal forms of TB, such as TB meningitis, which can leave the child blind, deaf, paralyzed or mentally disabled. In Kenya, TB deaths are higher among children under the age of five compared to older children between the ages of six and 14 years. TB is both preventable and treatable; no child should die of TB.
In 2015, Kenya reported over 6,000 cases of TB in children below 14 years of age. But even with these numbers, many children with TB go undiagnosed and untreated. For children found to have TB and put on treatment, the journey to a full recovery is not an easy one.
For a long time, there have been no child-friendly medicines, making the treatment journey difficult for children, their caregivers and families. Children have been treated with medicines meant for adults that are often very large, do not easy dissolve in water and have an unpleasant taste especially for younger children. Caregivers have had to split multiple, bitter pills to approximate the correct dose for children. This inaccurate dosing can make treatment ineffective at curing children with TB and drives up rates of drug resistance.
But the situation is changing.
The TB Alliance, in collaboration with WHO, UNITAID, USAID and other partners, have developed child-friendly TB medicines that are easy to dose. The correct medicines designed for children will contribute to reduced childhood illness and death from TB.
These medicines do not need to be cut or crushed to achieve an appropriate dose; are fewer, fruit-flavored and easily dissolve in water hence easier to administer; both for the caregiver and the child.
These medicines will improve treatment and save the lives of many more children. The medicines for children will also ease the TB burden on health care systems and make TB easier to treat than ever before, improving the daily lives of children and their families struggling with TB.
With funding from TB Alliance, CHS is supporting advocacy and communication efforts of the National Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Lung Disease Program (NTLD-Program) in the roll out of these child-friendly medicines.