Timing and uptake of ART during treatment for active tuberculosis in HIV co-infected adults in Malawi

Tuberculosis knowledge, misconceptions/myths in adults: findings from Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia and Zambia Demographic Health Surveys (2013–2016)

“…Key interventions for TB control have focused intensified case finding of smear positive TB among patients presenting with cough and early initiation of treatment HIV testing and counselling, early initiation on ART, isoniazid preventive treatment in people living with HIV, [ 5 , 6 ]. Early initiation on ART in TB and HIV co-infected patients on TB treatment improves uptake and continuation on ART [ 7 ]. Approximately 53 million deaths were averted by TB treatment between 2000 and 2016, with 17% deaths averted from HIV positive people on ART.…”

<I>Editorial: Public Health Action</I>: a new home for operational research

“…It welcomes submissions that provide new knowledge concerning health services and systems for the poor so that action can be taken to improve these services and systems and to reduce their burden of disease. The articles in this fi rst issue of PHA illustrate this very well: they report operational research from health services in Malawi, [1][2][3] Pakistan, 4 Ethiopia 5 and South Africa. 6 The publications focus on services in the public sector as well as humanitarian projects addressing tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, malnutrition and malaria.…”

How far do we still need to go to provide health solutions for the poor?

“…A paper on 2463 tuberculosis patients living with HIV reported that only one in six were commenced at an early stage on antiretroviral treatment but that, more importantly, one-third of all these patients had an unfavourable treatment outcome. 3 A third study of 2922 deaths among patients on antiretroviral treatment for HIV reported that more than one out of eight were omitted when being transcribed from one register to another, calling into serious question the quality of even the most basic health statistics we use to monitor our activities. 4 A study from Pakistan of 1698 consecutive sputum smear-positive tuberculosis patients reported that one in every sixteen was never registered on treatment, most of them having been diagnosed in tertiary care hospitals.…”