Introduction

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis, defi ned as tuber culosis caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistant to at least isoniazid and rifampicin, accounts for 3648% of incident cases of tuberculosis worldwide around 440 000 new cases in 2008.1,2 In 2000, the Green Light Committee was formed within the Stop TB Partnership and WHO to increase access to high-quality, second-line antituberculosis drugs at low prices, to prevent additional drug resistance, and to contribute evidence for policy development. By 2011, 255 project applications to the Green Light Committee had been approved that covered more than 130 000 patients with MDR tuberculosis.3, (Dalton et al., 2012)