New resources from Treatment Action Group help people with drug-resistant tuberculosis understand their medications, manage side effects and talk with providers
Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major health threat worldwide, especially for people living with HIV (PLWH). A significant proportion of TB cases are drug-resistant, and that’s why Treatment Action Group (TAG) has released a suite of resource materials to help people with TB manage their drug regimens and side effects.
“These materials are the first to provide a comprehensive breakdown of the side effects of treatment for drug-resistant TB by organ system and how they are typically managed,” said Lindsay McKenna, co-director of TAG’s TB Project. The suite, which came out in August, includes a resource book spelling out how various parts of the body are affected by medications prescribed for drug-resistant TB, an activity book with offering strategies for communicating with healthcare providers and a one-sheet wall chart intended “to prompt healthcare workers to ask patients more proactively about side effects,” she said.
About 10.7 million people acquire TB each year, she said, with 5.8% of those cases among PLWH. In 2024, it was estimated that 390,000 people with TB had drug-resistant disease. Major side effects include liver toxicity, gastrointestinal issues and neuropathy.
The new publications were developed under the Unitaid-funded ASCENT DR-TB Project, which is led by the KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation. As part of the same project, TAG has published other materials, including “An Activist’s Guide to Shorter Treatment for Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis,” originally released in 2023 and updated in 2025. The guide and accompanying educational materials are now available in Bahasa Indonesia, Portuguese, Russian, Amharic, Zulu and Hausa.
“...the human body is not a machine, but a living ecosystem,” wrote illustrator Paulina Siniatkina in an introductory statement
During in the first phase, TAG awarded grants to nine organizations in seven countries, to improve knowledge about treatment and encourage advocacy for drug-resistant TB regimens recommended by the World Health Organization, including BPaL/M, which combines bedaquiline, pretomanid and linezolid, with or without moxifloxacin. The first set of grants went to organizations in Mozambique, South Africa, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Ukraine and Vietnam. Now, in the second phase, grants have gone to community groups in Nigeria, Ukraine, Vietnam and Mozambique, with the goals of further building treatment literacy and improving side effect reporting.
The new materials were illustrated by Paulina Siniatkina, an artist and TB survivor, using a botanical motif of leaves, roots, and flowers. The illustrations “are inspired by the idea that the human body is not a machine, but a living ecosystem,” she wrote in an introductory statement. The activity book even includes two coloring pages. The publications were written by Jennifer Furin, edited by McKenna and designed by Paula Cyhan.
Download the resource book here.
Download the wall chart here.