Bangladesh

a pay-per-use approach

Every year, around 80,000 Bangladeshis die from tuberculosis (TB) and about 190,000 new cases occur. Every hour, nine people die from the disease, despite effective treatments being available. The current situation can be dramatically improved. The target proposed is a 95% reduction in TB deaths and a 90% reduction in new cases in 20 years’ time. In Bangladesh, that could be achieved for about $300 million a year. This sounds a lot, but it would give each TB patient on average about another 25 years of life.

The Delft Approach

With the funding of WHO/StopTb, the Dubai-based IRD organization and Delft Imaging Systems set up a new approach to fight TB in Bangladesh. The focus was on increasing early case-detection, reporting and correct treatment of TB, serving poor communities in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The project was rolled out using an innovative pay-per-use scheme. The lung screening center’s charged a modest fee for every “lung screening” and part of this fee supported the cost of the X-ray units.

Making an Impact