The cost of medical treatment of each tuberculosis patient is roughly $146 per annum. Hence, the cost of treatment of 9.6 million tuberculosis patients, worldwide, stands at over $140 million.

This comes while the expenses of the election campaigns of the two US presidential hopefuls from the Republican and Democratic Parties, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, is equivalent to the expenses of treatment of tuberculosis patients across the world for a period of eleven years.

Every year, two million people succumb to this fatal disease, worldwide. In accordance to facts and figures, in the year 2014, roughly 9.6 million were grappling with this terminal and contagious ailment across the globe. Tuberculosis is the cause of death of one fifth of women aged 15-44, every year.

Usually, there is a close link between poverty and tuberculosis. In fact, 95% of tuberculosis patients belong to countries with low or average revenues.

Meanwhile, a vast majority of tuberculosis patients live in Africa. The international norms indicate 133 tuberculosis patients in 100,000 individuals. However, in Africa, 281 individuals out of every 100,000 people suffer from this disease.

Meanwhile, the status quo in Africa has even worsened with the AIDS epidemic in that continent. This is because the rate of contraction of tuberculosis among AIDS patients is thirty-fold higher than an ordinary person. The spread of AIDS and tuberculosis have taken their tolls on many Africans.

In the meantime, let’s remember that the costs of US presidential hopefuls’ election campaigns are equal to the cost of treatment of tuberculosis patients, worldwide, for a period of eleven years.

MR/SS