Challenge index · Evidence reviewed 6 September 2026
Evidence overview
At least 93.9%
Of people requiring treatment for schistosomiasis are estimated to live in Africa, according to WHO.
WHO · Schistosomiasis fact sheet ↗Data scope: WHO fact sheet, accessed 6 September 2026. This is the geographic share of treatment need, not prevalence among Africans or a measure of all disease burden.
What the evidence tells us
WHO describes a disease linked to freshwater exposure and inadequate sanitation, with particular risks in rural communities. The concentration of treatment need makes diagnostics suited to endemic settings a concrete research priority. Diagnostic development must be considered alongside prevention and access to treatment.
Read the underlying source ↗Axum’s research and commercialisation agenda
Axum will look for inventions that make diagnosis practical in the settings where it is needed. The research areas below also examine newborn screening and environmental exposure. A commercial pathway must demonstrate clinical performance and a delivery model that local health services can sustain.
These are proposed research directions. Patentability and commercial viability remain to be established for each invention.
Research directions
Urinary schistosomiasis diagnostics →
Endemic districts in Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire
Can a field diagnostic preserve accuracy beyond the site where it was developed?
Multi-contrast diagnostics · PLOS 2025 ↗Tsetse surveillance →
Defined sleeping-sickness foci
Can surveillance detect local rebound with fewer maintenance visits?
Tsetse identification · Scientific Reports 2022 ↗Newborn sickle-cell screening →
Primary-health and maternity pathways
How can screening lead reliably to confirmed diagnosis and enrolment in care?
Nigerian screening feasibility study · 2020 ↗Rift Valley drinking water →
Selected Kenyan and Ethiopian groundwater systems
Can treatment retain its performance with local groundwater chemistry?
Field fluoride-removal study · 2014 ↗Selected literature
A starting library of published studies and institutional evidence. Source types and dates are identified below; inclusion does not imply endorsement of an Axum product.