Setting: One hundred and seven public health facilities with tuberculosis (TB) service and 66 private pharmacies in 14 provinces.
Objectives: To assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of TB service providers, new smear-positive pulmonary TB out-patients and drug storekeepers, to document practices in the public sector TB drug procurement system, to measure TB drug availability in private pharmacies and to compare public and private sector TB drug prices with international prices.
Design: Documents and treatment record reviews, inventory checks and structured interviews.
Results: The prescribing practices of the TB service providers were acceptable. The level of new smear-positive TB out-patients' knowledge of TB treatment was high. The storekeepers' inventory practices for TB drugs indicated a need for improvement. Various TB drugs were available in the private pharmacies. TB drug prices in the public sector were similar to international reference prices, although they were higher than the Global TB Drug Facility prices.
Conclusions: An indicator-based anti-tuberculosis drug management assessment survey can measure the current situation and quality of DOTS, identify any weaknesses or changes in practice from the norm, and simultaneously serve as a basis for training of TB service providers and storekeepers.