As more focus is on HIV/AIDS, there is one area that has been overlooked: In South Africa, asthma is the third most common cause of hospital admissions of children, yet only 2% of asthmatics receive treatment.
Hence to to cut high asthma mortality rates, the government has awarded Cipla Medpro a R345m ($32.6m) share in the national respiratory tender as Africa’s most advanced economy seeks, the company said in a press release.
South Africa has the world’s fourth highest asthma death rate among 5- to 35-year olds, with thousands dying each year from a disease which causes shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing, according to the Global Initiative for Asthma.
According to the statement, the contract runs from the beginning of next month to April 30, 2017 and will see South Africa’s third largest pharmaceutical company providing asthma medication.