IPA joins hands with CPA & IPSF for “TB Fact Card”

EPP News Bureau - Mumbai

The Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA) signed an MoU with the Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Association (CPA) & International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation (IPSF) for the ‘‘Tuberculosis (TB) Fact Card’’.

The CPA/IPA/IPSF TB Fact Card will be launched on World TB Day (March 24, 2005) and will be implemented over a period of next six months.

The project which was recently signed by the IPA President Subodh Priolkar is an end result of earlier discussions held by CPA, IPA & IPSF at 64th FIP Congress at New Orleans, USA in September 2004, informed a press release.

According to the release, the project involves participation of the community pharmacists and students and will be piloted in the selective parts of Mumbai and Pune.

Given the increasing trend of multi-drug resistance amongst all strains of TB and the high incidence of TB in communities throughout India, the three organisations were united in their belief that community pharmacists could play a more proactive role in the prevention and effective treatment of TB.

Pharmacists and students will be able to jointly promote their role in public health as educators in the management and prevention of TB.

The project will involve a training programme for pharmacists to counsel TB patients about their medication and the use of patient-focussed Fact Cards to aid adherence and understanding, the release explained.

Based on the format of the CPA Malaria Fact Cards distributed through community pharmacies and clinics in Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Ghana, the TB Fact Card will also focus on consumer health education, the release added.

The Fact Card will be designed to promote TB symptom awareness and support patients’ long-term adherence to treatment.

The IPSF will support local pharmacy students as they plan and implement a TB awareness campaign. Local students will also be trained treatment ‘‘observers’’ and will take part in the project to be implemented by community pharmacists participating in the project.

CPA will collaborate with IPSF in developing and implementing a TB website and Forum to provide information and promote international discussion. A National Project Committee has also been set up to plan and implement this novel project.