Medical DevicesBenefits Of Anti-TB Plan Would Dwarf Costs In Sub-Saharan Africa
A diverse international network has proposed to significantly increase the
res devoted to fighting tuberculosis, the second most deadly of the
world"s infectious diseases. The "Global Plan to Stop TB" would step up
use of treatments and techniques that have proved effective in fighting
the disease, but would the benefits of the additional effort outweigh the
costs?
In sub-Saharan Africa, the answer is yes, according to an analysis
published today on the Health Affairs Web site. In this region, when the
Global Plan is compared to continuing the current anti-TB strategy, the
benefits of the Global Plan would outweigh its costs by a ratio of 9 to 1,
say Ramanan Laxminarayan, a senior fellow at Res for the Future in
Washington, D.C., and coauthors. However, the benefit-to-cost ratio of the
Global Plan would vary from area to area: the plan"s benefits would
unambiguously outweigh the costs in only 12 of the 22 countries with the
highest TB-related burden: the nine high-burden countries in Africa plus
Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Russia.
÷ Link to÷ the article by Laxminarayan and coauthors.
Health Affairs is pleased to make this article freely accessible for two
weeks.
Health Affairs