Countries Share Early Results and Lessons on Implementing Shorter DR-TB Regimens During “PeerLINC in Action”
The PeerLINC community gathered on 19 November 2025 for PeerLINC in Action: Global Knowledge Sharing for Faster Implementation of Innovations in TB Care, a learning session organized in partnership with TB Alliance and held in conjunction with the 2025 World Conference on Lung Health. The event brought together National TB Program (NTP) managers, NTP technical leads and representatives, and tuberculosis researchers for a moderated exchange on the global transition to six-month treatment regimens for drug-resistant TB (DR-TB).
Moderated by Dr. Allan Fabella, Programmatic and Clinical Lead of PeerLINC Knowledge Hub, the panel unpacked global and country-level milestones in the adoption of 6-month regimens. Dr. Fabella opened the discussion with the latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO) 2025 Global TB Report, noting that 34,256 people with multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and rifampicin-resistant TB (RR-TB) were treated with six-month regimens in 2024 across 97 countries, marking a steep rise from 60 countries in 2023 and 41 in 2022. Despite this momentum, he emphasized that longer 18-month regimens still accounted for 54% of MDR/RR-TB treatment globally, underscoring the need for continued advocacy and programmatic support.
Representing Brazil, Dr. Fernanda Dockhorn shared how strong political commitment, improved monitoring systems, and updated care algorithms have enabled Brazil to scale up shorter regimens while addressing bottlenecks around drug-susceptibility testing and active drug safety monitoring. From Papua New Guinea, Dr. Herolyn Nindil reflected on the value of shorter regimens in reducing the burden on both health workers and patients, noting how communities have welcomed a treatment pathway that is more manageable and less disruptive to daily life.
Dr. Adesigbin Clement, MDR-TB Lead for Nigeria, spoke about Nigeria’s experience in navigating regulatory and implementation hurdles, particularly those related to drug availability, diagnostics, and workforce training, while highlighting strategies that improved facility readiness, reporting systems, and health worker confidence.
From China, Prof. Chu Naihui presented early operational research findings showing promising results on efficacy and safety from China’s initial implementation of BPaL, including high rates of culture conversion and minimal adverse events observed among participating sites.
Across countries, panelists echoed that shorter regimens are easier to advocate for, widely welcomed by patients and clinicians, and offer potential cost savings for national programs by reducing treatment duration and follow-up demands. Yet they also described shared challenges, such as ensuring access to DST for new drugs, strengthening adverse event reporting, and securing political and financial support to accelerate rollout at scale.
The discussion concluded with clear recommendations for countries preparing for transition: conduct readiness assessments, invest in capacity building, strengthen monitoring platforms, and cultivate strong stakeholder alignment that spans regulatory agencies and frontline health workers. Above all, panelists emphasized that patient welfare must remain the driving force behind the shift toward shorter, safer, and more effective DR-TB regimens.
PeerLINC extends its gratitude to all participants, country partners, and collaborators for their commitment to improving TB care globally. The insights shared during the session will contribute to stronger implementation pathways, deeper peer-to-peer learning, and sustained collaboration as countries work toward universal access to shorter DR-TB treatment.