The Vice Chancellor of David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences (DUFUHS), Ebonyi State, Professor Jesse Uneke, has sounded the alarm over the devastating impact of respiratory diseases in Africa, calling them a major cause of both acute and chronic illness and death across the continent.
Speaking during the official launch of a multi-country health project at the Institute of Child Health, Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital Abakaliki (AE-FUTHA), Professor Uneke emphasized the urgent need to address the growing public health threat. The project, which focuses on improving equity in respiratory disease outcomes using data-driven tools, spans five African nations: Nigeria, Kenya, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, and South Africa.
Professor Uneke, who is also the principal investigator and state lead on the initiative, revealed that respiratory illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), childhood and adult pneumonia, asthma, and lung cancer are increasingly prevalent in these regions, with Nigeria being no exception. Ebonyi and Lagos were selected as the only two Nigerian states to pilot the program.
According to Uneke, the burden of respiratory diseases in Nigeria is significant but remains under-addressed due to weak health systems, limited access to diagnostic tools, and inadequate treatment facilities. He stressed that the impact of these conditions is disproportionately severe among the poor, who often lack access to quality and affordable healthcare.
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“There is a glaring gap in our capacity to prevent, diagnose, and treat respiratory diseases. These gaps lead to large-scale health inequities, especially for vulnerable populations,” Uneke said.
The DUFUHS Vice Chancellor further disclosed that the project will supply critical diagnostic equipment to six key health facilities across Ebonyi State and provide free treatment to at least 1,000 patients over the course of the four-year project.
To ensure targeted impact, the initiative will deploy advanced tools like the Equitable Impact Sensitive Tool (EQUIST) and the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) method. Additionally, a new decision science-based platform, the “Pathways to Survival” (PATHS) tool, will be piloted to identify and eliminate bottlenecks in healthcare delivery.
Uneke explained that the overall goal is to significantly reduce deaths and illnesses caused by respiratory diseases in Africa by implementing smarter, data-backed interventions and health policies.
