article · Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology
A roadmap outlines critical priorities for managing atopic dermatitis across sub-Saharan Africa. Key priorities include securing reliable access to essential medicines and medical devices, particularly emollients, alongside improving training for primary healthcare staff to ensure accurate patient triage. This includes developing educational resources focused on atopic dermatitis and skin diseases in pigmented skin specifically tailored for African settings. The strategy also highlights engaging traditional healers and enhancing patient education. These measures aim to address severe healthcare barriers in the region, including long travel distances to clinics, scarce medical resources, and a widespread shortage of specialised dermatological expertise. Furthermore, regional research initiatives have been identified for execution in partnership with the World Health Organization, with progress slated for assessment at international dermatology conferences.
Atopic dermatitis poses significant challenges in sub-Saharan Africa due to limited resources and specialised clinical expertise. By establishing focused priorities such as emollient access, targeted training for pigmented skin, and integrating traditional healers, health systems can overcome structural barriers like travel distance to deliver earlier diagnosis and better ongoing care for patients across the region.
The roadmap highlights practical demand for accessible medical supplies, specifically affordable emollients, alongside targeted clinical training materials for pigmented skin. Potential users include primary healthcare providers, local clinics, and healthcare educators. Because the document outlines strategic priorities and research initiatives rather than specific product formulations, translation into market solutions remains at an early strategic stage requiring partnerships with global health bodies and local healthcare providers.
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A roadmap has been defined with top priorities such as access to essential medicines and devices for AD care, in particular emollients, better education of primary healthcare workers for adequate triage (e.g. better educational materials for skin diseases in pigmented skin generally and AD in particular, especially targeted to Africa), involvement of traditional healers and to a certain extent also patient education, bearing in mind the barriers to effective healthcare faced in SSA countries such as travel distances to health facilities, limited resources and the lack of dermatological expertise. In addition, several initiatives concerning AD research in SSA were discussed and should be implemented in close collaboration with the WHO and assessed at follow-up meetings, in particular, at the next ISAD meeting in Seoul, South Korea and African Society of Dermatology and Venereology (ASDV) meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, both in 2020.
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DOI: 10.1111/jdv.15972
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