Nigeria and other African nations are at a crossroads in the fight against tuberculosis as underinvestment in diagnostic services together with funding cuts is poised to erase over 20 years gains against the viral disease.
In a statement entitled “More than a disease, TB is a symptom of underinvestment” Allan Pamba, executive vice president, Diagnostics, Africa, at Roche Diagnostics called on the government to integrate comprehensive diagnostics programmes into its national health budgets.
Pamba stated that this act will not only help reduce overall healthcare costs but deliver more healthcare to the citizens, many of whom lack access.
“Investments in diagnostic services in Africa can – and indeed have – demonstrated substantial returns. Early detection means fewer hospital stays, reduced infection rates and lower long-term treatment costs,” he said.
The executive vice president of the Nairobi-based diagnostic service provider revealed that there is up to a one in four chance that anyone could be infected with the tuberculosis (TB) bacteria, noting that of the quarter of the world’s infected population, only a portion will develop active TB. But HIV co-infection increases that probability by 20 to 30 times.
“Active TB is fatal and mostly affects adults in their economically productive years,” Pamba noted.
More than a million people died from TB last year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
That number is expected to rise rapidly as public health systems face new funding challenges, jeopardising established treatment programmes. The good news, however, is that TB can be diagnosed early and cured with prompt treatment.
Pamba’s call comes on the heels of the World’s Tuberculosis Day, a day set aside by the WHO every 24th of March to sensitise the public on the world’s deadliest infectious disease with this year’s theme being ““Yes! We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, Deliver”.
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But the disruption of aid and funding by the United States for essential prevention, screening and treatment access for people with TB in Africa is putting the continent at a risk.
These unprecedented disruptions have prompted the WHO to urgently call on governments, communities, civil society, healthcare providers, the private sector and the world to advocate, discuss and plan further collaboration to reach all people with quality TB prevention and care services.
“Africa’s health systems have been shaped by external donors. But global priorities are shifting. Africa needs to shift ahead of this curve,” Pamba said.
Beyond external funding – which is no longer guaranteed – the statistics indicate domestic underinvestment, particularly in early diagnosis. With early diagnosis, timely treatment can stop this age-old bacterial infection in its tracks.
He noted that strong economies invest in their own health, urging the government to expand domestic funding for health and diagnostics in particular as this will improve healthcare, economic growth, stability and innovation.
Though most African countries already have diagnostic platforms for HIV testing that can also test many other diseases, running parallel systems increases costs and slows results.”Integrated testing is the smarter approach – one machine, many tests.”
“Strategic partnerships ensure that existing infrastructure works harder, reducing costs while improving patient outcomes. By working in partnership with industry, governments can scale up diagnostic capacity, integrate cost-saving innovations like multi-disease testing and train healthcare professionals to deliver faster, more accurate care,” Pamba said.
