No shortage of TB drugs in India: Union Health Ministry

Union govt. clarifies: no shortage of anti-TB drugs; stocks sufficient for 6+ months; procurement process for FY 2024-25 started; rare situations require States to procure drugs locally.

There is no shortage of anti-tuberculosis medicines in India, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday, slamming media reports claiming that such a shortage exists as “false, motivated and misleading”.

In a sharp statement, the Ministry asserted that there is a sufficent stock of all anti-TB drugs in the country. The Centre proactively undertakes regular assessments to evaluate the stock positions at various levels, from central warehouses to peripheral health institutes, it said.

Citing information mentioned in the media reports, the Ministry said they were “not only inaccurate and misleading, but also do not reflect the correct picture of the available stock of anti-TB drugs in the country”. 

Treatment for drug-sensitive TB consists of two months of taking four drugs, available as 4FDC (Isoniazid, Rifampicin, Ethambutol and Pyrazinamide), followed by two months of three drugs available as 3 FDC (Isoniazid, Rifampicin and Ethambutol), the Ministry explained.

All these drugs are available with sufficient stocks for a period of at least six months, the statement said, adding that the procurement process for drugs for the next financial year 2024-25 has already started.

The treatment regimen of multi drug resistant TB usually consists of four months of taking seven drugs, followed by five months of four drugs. Patients on multidrug resistant TB medicines form 2.5% of the total TB-affected population, and even for this group there is no shortage of drugs, the Ministry said.  

The procurement, storage, maintenance of stock, and timely distribution of anti-TB drugs and other materials are done at the Central level under the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP). “In rare situations, States are required to procure a few drugs locally for a limited period using the budget under National Health Mission so that individual patient care is not affected,” the statement said.