Pictured: Lead author, Dr Kefyalew Alene, of The Kids Research Institute Australia and Curtin University
A regional corner of Africa is a hotspot for cases of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, prompting The Kids Research Institute Australia and Curtin University researchers to call for targeted health support rather than a national response.
The new research, published today in the British Medical Journal Global Health, found a high prevalence of all three infectious diseases in the Gambela region, a regional centre located in western Ethiopia that borders South Sudan.
Lead author Dr Kefyalew Alene, an Honorary Research Fellow with the Geospatial Health and Development team at The Kids Research Institute Australia and a Research Fellow at Curtin University, said it was concerning to find one region reporting large numbers of all three diseases.
Dr Alene said the findings could help guide policymakers in Ethiopia to design disease control programs targeted at a local level, for maximum impact.
To learn more, click here.