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Sunday, August 28, 2005
Africa Epidemic: What we can do
The call for help came on Friday from Maputo, Mozambique. The World Health Organization announced that tuberculosis is cutting a deadly swath across the Africa, killing 500,000 people every year -- that's 25 percent of all TB deaths worldwide from a place that holds 11 percent of the world's population.
Describing the call to action as "epoch making," Archbishop Desmond Tutu said African authorities frequently go into despair "when faced with unpleasant, unpalatable facts." But the TB crisis, he said, could be different.
"We can overcome this horrendous, horrendous epidemic," said Tutu, who was hospitalized for 20 months after contracting the lung disease as a teen.
The ravaged immune systems of those who are HIV-positive fall prey to the TB bacteria, making it the leading cause of death among those living with HIV. The rate at which TB is spreading in Africa can only be described as terrifying, with the number of new cases tripling annually since 1990. Asia is also teetering on the edge of a TB disaster, owning 66 percent of the world's cases. The process for screening the bacterial disease has been the same for a century, and new treatments haven't been developed for 30 years. As it stands, TB treatment costs $15 per person. With five new vaccines being tested by the end of this year, there's hope for better treatments. Unfortunately, in the scientific world, hope don't come free.
While the European Commission, France, the U.K. and Japan will increase their contributions to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the main source of external funds for TB programs), the U.S. is roughly $250 - $350 million short of its share in the fight. And that's assuming the Senate wins the fight to earmark $600 million (as opposed to the $400 million recommended by the House) for Global Fund donations.
Unless we step up to the plate, those fighting TB may have to hold off on new, lifesaving projects.
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