A new clinical trial has found a safer, shorter, and more effective treatment for post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL), a debilitating skin condition that affects thousands in East Africa. The study, conducted by the non-profit Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) and the University of Khartoum in Sudan, was published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

PKDL is a complication that can develop after treatment for visceral leishmaniasis (VL), also known as kala-azar. The skin condition, which is most prevalent in Sudan, causes unsightly rashes that can spread across the body. Up to 20% of VL patients in the country go on to develop PKDL within six months of treatment.

The current standard treatment for PKDL involves long courses of injectable medications that can be highly toxic. But the new trial has identified a superior treatment regimen that reduces hospital stays by over 50% and improves safety.

“For a long time, patients with PKDL in Eastern Africa have been left behind by medical research because the disease is not considered life-threatening,” said Dr. Fabiana Alves, Director of the Leishmaniasis Cluster at DNDi. “Many have had to endure not only stigma but expensive, lengthy treatments exposing them to toxicity. But this new, shorter, and better treatment will improve the lives of these neglected patients.”

The Phase II trial tested two treatment arms. The first group received a combination of oral miltefosine and injectable paromomycin (MF+PM) for 42 days, but only needed to stay in the hospital for 14 days. After discharge, they continued the oral treatment at home. This regimen achieved a 98% cure rate at 12 months.

The second arm received miltefosine and injectable liposomal amphotericin B (MF+LAmB) for 28 days, with just a 7-day hospital stay. This alternative treatment had an 80% cure rate.

“Treatment for PKDL in Sudan is currently only recommended for patients with severe or persistent disease, mainly because the standard treatment is prolonged, toxic, and expensive,” said Professor Ahmed Musa from the University of Khartoum. “But we have now found a safer and better treatment option where patients only need to be admitted to the hospital for 2 weeks.”

Detecting and treating PKDL is crucial for eliminating visceral leishmaniasis as a public health problem in the region, as people with PKDL lesions can transmit the disease to sand flies. The new findings support efforts by the World Health Organization to ensure all PKDL cases are detected and managed by 2030.

“This new, shorter, and better treatment will improve the lives of these neglected patients and also help reduce VL transmission on our road to elimination,” added Dr. Alves.

In a move to bolster educational cooperation between India and Ethiopia, the Government of India has announced a scholarship program for Ethiopian students in the 2023/24 academic year.

Under this initiative, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) will be providing scholarships to a total of 55 Ethiopian students. In the first round of selections, 35 students have reportedly started the visa processing after being accepted into the program.

The ICCR scholarship covers undergraduate education programs in India. The application process for the scholarships was opened on February 20, 2024, and the selected students will receive tuition-free education as well as free airfare to India.

“When I applied through the ICCR portal, there were some initial system challenges, but I’m grateful to have been selected for this opportunity,” said Teshome Mengstu, a lecturer at the University of Adigrat who is one of the 35 students awarded the scholarship.

Bethlehem Tesfaye, a geology lecturer at Dire Dawa University, echoed similar sentiments, stating that while there were some difficulties in accessing information, the application portal itself was user-friendly.

The Indian Embassy in Ethiopia highlighted that the primary objective of the ICCR scholarship program is to strengthen cultural ties and mutual understanding between India and other countries through educational exchange.

“This scholarship program is a testament to the growing educational cooperation between India and Ethiopia,” said a spokesperson from the Indian Embassy. “We are committed to facilitating these academic opportunities and fostering greater people-to-people linkages between our two nations.”

With 35 Ethiopian students already in the process of securing their visas, the first round of the ICCR scholarship program is off to a promising start. As the remaining 20 scholarships are awarded, the initiative is expected to further deepen the educational and cultural exchanges between India and Ethiopia.

In a significant development, hotels across Ethiopia have restarted accepting full payment in US dollars from foreign passport holders for the services they provide.

This move comes after the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) has reinstituted a directive that had been in place previously, but had fallen by the wayside in recent years due to lax enforcement.

Aster Solomon, the president of the Addis Ababa Hotels Association, explained to Capital that the directive allowing hotels to collect service fees in US dollars from foreign nationals has been on the books for years. However, the lack of stringent control by the authorities had led to a loosening of the implementation.

“The directive was already in place at the legal level, but the control was low, so that foreign nationals could only pay for the services used by the hotels where they were staying,” Aster stated.

This shift occurred as the gap between the black market exchange rate and the official rate widened, leading foreign visitors to make payments in the local Ethiopian birr currency rather than US dollars.

“The majority of hotels receive service fees in dollars under a pre-issued license with the National Bank, and the answer is in birr, but in the process its implementation has become looser,” Aster added.

The government has now moved to tighten the controls once again, compelling hotels to accept full payments from foreign nationals in US dollars only. This, according to Aster, is an opportunity for the country to benefit from the inflow of foreign currency.

“This re-tightening of controls is for the benefit of hotels and not for the benefit of the country, adding that it is an opportunity to benefit the country in terms of obtaining foreign currency,” she emphasized.

The move is also seen as an effort to encourage more diaspora arrivals from abroad to Ethiopia, as the government has reduced the number of transactions allowed in dollars at hotels.

With the NBE’s renewed enforcement of the directive, hotels across Ethiopia have begun implementing the same, ensuring foreign guests pay the complete service fees in US dollars once again.