Cancer is deadlier than malaria in Africa.
In 2015, malaria killed 394,000 Africans, while cancer killed an average of 635,400-60%.
“If current trends continue, Africa’s cancer burden is projected to reach 1.4 million new people and 1 million deaths by 2030,” says a 2017 report from BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH). BIO to promote health in developing countries.
New technologies such as anti-malarial mosquitoes repellents and new mosquito repellents are exciting because they will help reduce the spread of catastrophic bacteria.
But fighting cancer requires increasing access to treatment and clinical trials, strengthening health infrastructure (including staff), and highlighting the need for timely diagnosis.
That’s why when BVGH tried to find a place to focus its health promotion efforts in sub-Saharan Africa, “cancer has emerged,” Jennifer Dent, president, and CEO of BVGH told BIO Good Day.
Cancer in Africa, by population
In 2012, 14 million people were diagnosed with cancer and 8 million died worldwide, but more than half of all cases and two-thirds of deaths occur in Africa and other low- and middle-income regions. . “Speak. These numbers. It Will increase and Africa can underestimate it.
There are several reasons why cancer is so prevalent in Africa. More than 20% of African countries have no access to cancer treatment; even in countries that have access to it is “extreme and arbitrary”. In addition, as Dent told us, poor diagnosis, shortage of oncologists and doctors, as well as small clinical trials across continents, can occur, and as a result, timely diagnoses are often made.
The financial crisis also played a role, with only 5% of global cancer prevention and financial management spent in Africa and other low- and middle-income regions.
What does BVGH do?
BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) seeks to build capacity, and provide treatment and access to comprehensive treatment, for cancer and other critical areas such as neglected infectious diseases.
Founded in 2004 by BIO with financial support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, BVGH works in partnership – with companies, yes, but first, in the countries it supports.
BVGH is “a leader of Africa, for Africa,” Dent said. The conference works with African governments, health authorities, and hospitals to identify countries’ needs for medicines and technology, and help communities sustainably access them.
This doesn’t apply to new pharma companies telling your community what they want or metrics companies to have a look at, explains Dent. “It’s about what people want and want.”
Promoting access to medicines is the most important thing, but there are many challenges, from cost to “downgrading the supply chain”. The Africa Access Initiative (AAI) is a public-private partnership to address this issue. Working directly with local ministries of health as well as in the supply chain and regulatory system, BVGH manages direct shipments of unpaid medicines from pharmaceutical companies and handles ailing port data such as order receipts and import documents.
Through its partnerships with 40 hospitals in six countries, BVGH has seen “a difference in patient outcomes,” Dent told us.
Take Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, where economic losses are $ 4.7 billion annually. In collaboration with the Nigerian Ministry of Health and Nigerian hospitals, BVGH has identified 41 specific drugs for the treatment of the country’s most serious cancers, explained BioCentury. The pharmaceutical industry supplies medicines up to 85-96%, helping 2,100 patients each year to find cheaper treatments. BVGH and AAI recently partnered with the Sovereign Investment Authority of Nigeria (NSIA) to invest in world-class cancer facilities, including the NSIA – LUTH Cancer Center in Lagos. BVGH and NSIA will work together to expand access to advanced radiation therapy and chemotherapy, making NSIA-LUTH “Nigeria’s Farber Fund,” according to Dent.
In addition to increasing access to care, BVGH mobilizes resources across the African cancer environment. The African Consortium for Cancer Clinical Trials is increasing the number of tests in Africa, providing access to new and improved data.
To strengthen the health workforce, in 2020, BVGH will launch a training program to address the hospital shortage; they have already trained more than 1,000 African healthcare professionals in advanced radiology and pathology.
The fourth major challenge is recognizing the need for early detection. Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide, but the second most common in Africa and the deadliest in Rwanda. However, it does not have to be fatal if detected early and can be prevented with the HPV vaccine.
BVGH and the Rwandan Biomedical Center (RBC) are working with the Ministry of Health to develop and implement a “book, screen, treatment (EST)” program for 185,000 women in the Bugesera region of Rwanda. During the first 25 days of the program, more than 6,000 women were tested for HPV, a major risk factor for cervical cancer, and hundreds were referred for further tests or biopsies. Additionally, nearly 1,000 women also choose to get tested for breast cancer. Free transportation is offered to women undergoing other tests.
Eventually, 29 women were referred for emergency care for suspected cervical or breast cancer, possibly more than they should, giving them a better chance of survival.
In the long run, what’s the success rate like BVGH? Create “a truly sustainable system,” says Dent, “by listening to the voices of the survivors.”
Power of cooperation
The BVGH method not only provides positive results for public health but also benefits biopharmaceutical companies.
“The market is strong, but companies have to do business there,” Dent said. By helping companies develop capacity and dispense drugs as needed, this partnership not only saves lives but also helps companies understand the African market and thus permanently expand their business.