highlights
Africa made its first cancer test kit
Kit will be available for testing in a few days
African people will not have to go to other countries for investigation
New Delhi. Africa has achieved great success in the field of health. The first cancer test kit made in Africa to treat breast cancer and leukemia will soon be available here, reducing the time and cost of testing and treating patients across the continent Will come It is expected that it will be commercially available within a month. Till now, most of the diagnostic kits for cancer and other diseases in Africa are sourced from outside the continent. Usually these are imported from Europe and America at expensive prices. Hassan Sefraoui, an executive board member of the Moroccan Foundation for Advanced Science, Innovation and Research (MASciR), said the kits could take weeks or months to arrive.
Sefraui said that since 2010, the work of manufacturing the cancer kit is going on. He told that leukemia tests have already been used on 400 people in Morocco. He said that till now samples for leukemia and breast cancer were sent to France for treatment. But locally made test kits can get results within a few hours.
Africa imports 99 percent of the vaccine
Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in Morocco. Here, it is a leading cause of death among women. While it has a high survival rate after initial diagnosis (early stage). In low- and middle-income countries, including Morocco, breast cancer cases are detected at a later stage. Because of which the death rate from breast cancer is high here. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Africa’s dependence on imported tests, treatments and vaccines has been a serious concern for the continent’s health authorities. An estimated 70% of pharmaceutical products (medicines) and 99% of vaccines used in African countries are imported.
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Health experts expressed concern about dependence on other countries
“Africa is heavily dependent on other countries for health materials,” Christian Happy, director of the African Center of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases, told a health conference in Rwanda last month. He said that ‘at the beginning of the epidemic, we were completely dependent on other countries. We could not even make simple diagnostics. He discussed ways to increase Africa’s manufacturing capacity in the conference. The African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation was launched last year to expand production in Africa.
“We still need a comprehensive strategy to support local manufacturers who are making Moroccan diagnostic kits available in other African countries,” said Yenyu Kebede Tebeje, head of laboratories and networks at the Africa Center for Disease Control on health facilities in Africa. Could collaborate with MASciR to get it done. Tebeje said that ‘the initial cost of purchasing cancer kits from MASciR can be more expensive than non-African competitors, as smaller companies have to import raw materials. But what I’m hoping for is a long-term effect. When these companies become strong and expand their manufacturing capacity, we will see cost benefits. He said that within three years the cost can be cut.
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Tags: Africa, cancer, health
FIRST PUBLISHED : January 11, 2023, 08:02 IST
