Mehamed is a father of one daughter, husband and merchant of used clothes. He lives in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and was diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) at the age of 27. Shortly after his diagnosis, he started his treatment supported by a smart pillbox provided by the ASCENT project, funded by Unitaid and led by KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation.
Tuberculosis (TB) is still the deadliest infectious disease worldwide, killing over 4.000 people every day. This is unnecessary as TB can be cured with appropriate treatment. A number of barriers however, prevent patients from recovering from this disease, including long and complicated treatment regimens that involve the daily intake of medicines over the course of 6-24 months.
By leveraging today’s smart information and (mobile) communication technologies the ASCENT project (Adherence Support Coalition to End TB) aims to support TB patients with their treatment in a modern and more effective way through the use of digital adherence technologies such as smart pill boxes, medication sleeves and video supported treatment.
By generating evidence, establishing a global market and engaging stakeholders, ASCENT aims to make future scale up possible so that these digital innovations can be available to all TB patients worldwide.
