In an audio interview, Peter Piot discusses a private-sector partnership that draws on tech and puts patients first.
 
The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) has teamed up with the philanthropic arm of the pharmaceutical company Novartis to test a new tack to managing the rising burden of chronic diseases in the developing world.

In an interview recorded this week at a symposium co-hosted by the pair, LSHTM director Peter Piot outlines elements of the partnership. He focuses on two elements: the need for a “systems design” approach to care that puts people first, and the promise of “evolutions and revolutions” in digital technology for areas where resources are in short supply, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa.

Four out of five patients who suffer from chronic conditions — 9.4 million people — live in low- and middle-income countries. But with little aid money and poor existing infrastructure, health systems are often too weak to offer the diagnostics and treatments needed for conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity or cancers.

And there are more barriers to care: people who struggle to make ends meet often can’t afford the time or the money to visit a hospital. Many are not even aware their health is at risk.

LSHTM’s work with the Novartis Foundation draws on a lesson from the management of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, according to Ann Aerts, head of the Foundation: the need to build healthcare around the reality of patients’ lives. It relies on innovation in both technology and in the way services are delivered.

‘Evolutions and revolutions’ in chronic disease care

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