Procurement and supply management report for the WHO European Region, high MDR-TB priority countries, 2013 (2015)

Drug-resistant TB poses a threat to population health in many countries throughout the WHO European Region. In order to decrease TB rates and to prevent the development and spread of resistant TB strains, capacities to diagnose and treat patients need to be increased, and the uninterrupted supply with adequate, high-quality, efficacious and safe TB medicines needs to be ensured. In order to provide comprehensive information on policies and procedures for procurement and supply management of anti-TB medicines in high-priority countries, the WHO Regional Office for Europe designed a questionnaire which was sent out to the 13 countries with the highest need for external support: the resulting country-level reports were the basis for this compiled regional report. Findings suggest that although progress has been made, several challenges still remain unsolved and need to be tackled further, including regulatory problems and funding issues.