GHANA – AstraZeneca, a leading global pharmaceutical company, has opened a nebulization station at the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) in the Northern Ghana to help improve asthma care for patients in the country.
The station is equipped with four nebulizing machines, which administer the medicine to patients, chairs and desks, and a television screen to play educational videos to patients, parents and relatives to explain more about what asthma is, and what they need to do to better manage asthma.
The opening of the nebulization station at the TTH is part of the Africa PUMUA Initiative, which was launched by AstraZeneca to highlight its commitment to improving the health outcomes of patients in Africa.
According to a study by PubMed, globally, about 300 million people have asthma, and current trends suggest that an additional 100 million people may be living with asthma by 2025.
In Africa, asthma is one of many neglected diseases and its prevalence is estimated with an average of 12% and national estimates ranging from 2% to 53% among individuals of age ranging from <2 to 64 years.
The global asthma drugs market size is predicted to surpass around US$ 37.3 billion by 2030 from US$ 20.6 billion in 2020, growing at a CAGR of 5.2% from 2021 to 2030.
Increasing prevalence of asthma across the globe is major factor driving growth of the global asthma drugs market.
Asthma is deliberated as a common chronic disease. Increasing need for better and improved health is creating huge demand for the asthma treatments which will in turn fuel growth of the global market in the near future.
In year 2019, AstraZeneca’s asthma drug Fasenra was approved by the Food and Drug Administration, which is a pre filled and auto injector, placing the company at the fore front of Asthma treatment.
Barbara Nel, AstraZeneca Country President for African Cluster, who handed over the nebulization station to the authorities of the TTH in Tamale, said the gesture formed part of AstraZeneca’s commitment to working with governments, and teaching hospitals to ensure sustainable improvement in asthma care for both pediatric and adult asthma patients.
By providing support of infrastructure, increasing awareness of the symptoms and risks of asthma, and building the capacity of all role players across the patient journey, the Africa PUMUA Initiative looks at addressing the barriers currently preventing access to care for patients with asthma.
Madam Evelyn Danikuu, Director of Nursing Services at TTH expressed gratitude to AstraZeneca for selecting TTH to be part of the Africa PUMUA Initiative, saying it would strengthen its capacity for improved asthma management.
The initiative forms part of AstraZeneca’s sustainability commitment to deliver improved accessibility, acceptability, affordability and availability of quality care in Africa.
