Despite the increased funding to combat tuberculosis, the disease remains a global concern. One of the reasons is the development of drug-resistant forms of the disease. Post-Soviet states are on the list of the World Health Organization’s high-burden countries, and all have a higher percentage of drug resistance among previously treated patients than among new cases. This article suggests that treatment interruptions among labour migrants is one of the major factors contributing to the persistence of drug resistance in the region. Analysing tuberculosis control programmes implemented by national governments and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) in Armenia and Kyrgyzstan the study emphasizes the limited consideration of the impact of patient mobility in these programmes. The findings stress the necessity to embrace the social and economic factors that increase the vulnerability of labour migrants to tuberculosis and treatment interruptions. Reviewing the strategies of other countries, this study discusses three possible solutions: pre-entry screening, access to healthcare in the country receiving migrants and cross-country collaboration. © 2018, European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI).

The Global Fund Tuberculosis control programmes Post-Soviet Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis labour migrants

labor migration social impact Malaria tuberculosis Kyrgyzstan vulnerability economic impact acquired immune deficiency syndrome disease control Armenia [West Asia] drug