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Calling entrepreneurs and innovators to alleviate the situation of TB treatment in India

Calling entrepreneurs and innovators to alleviate the situation of TB treatment in India

Tuesday July 09, 2013 , 3 min Read

Apply with your innovative ideas here

Developing countries often face a lot of health issues due to low standard of living and lack of basic amenities. Unhygienic living conditions, lack of preventive medicines and high cost of treatment lead to spreading of diseases even more. With the second largest population in the world, India has the highest number of tuberculosis victims. India has an estimated 2.2 million patients of TB out of the world’s total of 8.7 million. This is shocking as TB is not a disease without any cure.

It is actually nearly always curable if patients are treated with effective therapy. As the treatment is generally long (more than 6 months) patients tend to discontinue or be irregular leading to recurrence of TB. Recurring TB takes around 2 years to be cured. Patients also develop resistance during treatment if they do not take the prescribed drugs regularly or discontinue after feeling certain relief in their condition.

Adherence to the treatment plays the most critical role in cure of TB. It helps in controlling the spread of infection and minimizes the development of drug resistance. Because of the long duration of the treatment, incomplete adherence to treatment is the most serious problem in TB control and hence a major obstacle to the elimination of the disease completely.

IKP Knowledge Park (IKP) in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are working together to identify, fund, and nurture technology driven solutions that will assist TB control. To encourage and nurture innovation that will better address the TB treatment adherence scene, they have taken up the initiative called “The Grand Challenges in TB Control (GC-TBC)”.

In the GC-TBC challenge, scientists, researchers and entrepreneurs will be enabled to develop new solutions through funding and rigorous mentoring. Access to networks and marketing channels to commercialize the innovations will also be provided for the chosen ideas. Ideas with novelty in innovation, potential societal impact, access and affordability to end users, sustainability and alignment with goals of TB treatment adherence can win over US$ 1.3 million funding.

If you think you have an idea that can potentially change the fate of TB control in India or you know of someone who can help alleviate the situation, the applications for the GC-TBC are open till July 31st. Technology and innovation going hand in hand with TB therapy can definitely do some good to reduce the numbers of TB victims in India.

India has one-fourth of the total number of TB patients and it can be attributed to the same problem of interruption in treatment. No second thoughts on the need of a solution which can better the treatment adherence to help better the situation of TB in India. Along with medicines and therapy, technological innovation can play a major role in alleviating the TB situation.