Ethiopia Second Worst TB-Hit in Africa - Survey

The Daily Monitor
13 November 2007 Addis Ababa

Ethiopia ranks second in Africa on the list of countries most affected by tuberculosis, a new survey has shown.

According to the research by the Africa Public Health Rights Alliance (APHRA), the 10 most TB-hit countries in the continent in descending order are: Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, DR Congo, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, Ivory Coast and Mozambique.

The findings were unveiled on Thursday at the start of the 38th Union World Conference on Lung Health that run from November 8-12 in Cape Town, South Africa.
APHRA also launched the 15% Now! Campaign, urging governments to dedicate 15% of their budgets to health.

"Due to the abysmally low levels of health financing, millions of Africans are unable to receive treatment," APHRA Coordinator, Rotimi Sankore, said in a statement. "Demoralized health workers are being poached in thousands by more developed countries taking advantage of the situation." Sankore said it is a cause for great anxiety that on a continent where poor reproductive health has already led to maternal death levels of 261,000 a year, TB is now emerging as the biggest killer of women.

The Alliance urges African governments to first show commitment towards saving their own continent, and take donor funding as complimentary.

He said governments have largely failed to act. "Many have acted like the proverbial home owner that went back to sleep after being alerted by neighbors to the burning roof," he said.
"The fact that pivotal countries like Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, DRC and South Africa are carrying the greatest TB burden shows how easily they could drag down the regions that revolve around them." Globally, Nigeria ranks 4th, Ethiopia 7th, Kenya 9th and DR Congo 10th. Also, 33 of the 40 most infected countries in the world are in Africa, according to the survey. It shows that the 10 most infected countries globally are also among the highly populated. They include India, China, Indonesia, and Pakistan.

TB spreads through close contact with the infected. Its symptoms include protracted cough, weight loss, and fever.