Armed conflicts have an impact on the spread of tuberculosis: the case of the Somali Regional State of Ethiopia
Author: Abdi GeleGunnar Bjune
Credits/Source: Conflict and Health 2010, 4:1
Source: 7th Space Interactive
A pessimistic view of the impact of armed conflicts on the control of infectious diseases has generated great interest in the role of conflicts on the global TB epidemic. Nowhere in the world is such interest more palpable than in the Horn of Africa Region, comprising Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Kenya and Sudan.
An expanding literature has demonstrated that armed conflicts stall disease control programs through distraction of health system, interruption of patients’ability to seek health care, and the diversion of economic resources to military ends rather than health needs. Nonetheless, until very recently, no research has been done to address the impact of armed conflict on TB epidemics in the Somali Regional State (SRS) of Ethiopia.
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Conclusion: Patients from conflict zones have a longer delay in receiving a diagnosis of TB and have higher levels of self treatment utilization.
This suggests that access to TB care should be improved by the expansion of user friendly directly observed therapy short-course (DOTS) in the conflict zones of the region.
Read more: 7th Space Interactive