Sh232m TB diagnostic device set to transform testing for millions of Africans
A clinical validation programme will enroll more than 8,000 participants across South Africa, Mozambique, and Uganda to assess whether the device can transform tuberculosis diagnosis among populations that have historically faced barriers to conventional testing.
What you need to know:
- The device represents a critical breakthrough for vulnerable populations who currently fall through diagnostic gaps, leaving TB undetected and untreated.
The Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund has announced a Sh232.2 million ($1.8 million) investment to validate a tuberculosis diagnostic device in three African countries; the largest single commitment in the Fund’s broader portfolio of global health research and development.
GHIT is a Japanese-led initiative that funds the discovery and advancement of new health technologies including drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics, for low- and middle-income countries.
The Lung Flute ECO project brings together a consortium of African research institutions, including the Aurum Institute, Stellenbosch University, Instituto Nacional de Saúde in Mozambique, and the World Alliance for Lung and Intensive Care Medicine in Uganda, alongside partners from Japan and Belgium.
This ambitious clinical validation programme will enroll more than 8,000 participants across South Africa, Mozambique, and Uganda to assess whether the device can transform tuberculosis diagnosis among populations that have historically faced barriers to conventional testing.
Unlike traditional sputum collection methods, which require patients to produce deep-lung samples, often difficult or impossible for children, healthcare workers, and people living with HIV, the Lung Flute ECO offers a non-invasive alternative that could dramatically expand diagnostic access in resource-limited settings. The device represents a critical breakthrough for vulnerable populations who currently fall through diagnostic gaps, leaving TB undetected and untreated.
The investment will fund comprehensive clinical trials comparing the Lung Flute ECO’s performance against existing diagnostic methods, including saline induction, nasopharyngeal
The project will also assess the device's effectiveness in community screening programmes when combined with digital chest X-ray and computer-aided detection technology. Data on diagnostic yield, safety, patient acceptability, and cost-effectiveness will be collected and synchronised across all three countries for pooled analysis designed to meet World Health Organization guideline review criteria.
Beyond the clinical research, the project aims to establish sustainable local manufacturing capacity on the continent, ensuring that African healthcare systems can access and afford the technology long after the research phase concludes.
"The commitment to local manufacturing represents a fundamental shift in how global health innovation reaches African populations," noted the project documentation. "Rather than perpetual dependence on imported diagnostics, this approach builds African capacity to produce and distribute life-saving technologies."
The TB investment is part of six projects totalling Sh1.14 billion ($8.8 million) announced by the GHIT Fund.
Beyond tuberculosis, GHIT is investing Sh77.4 million ($0.6 million) in a multistage malaria vaccine project targeting Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest malaria parasite species that causes the majority of malaria deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. The vaccine, being developed by PATH, Ehime University, Sumitomo Pharma, and Danish institutions, aims to provide more comprehensive protection than existing vaccines like RTS, S and R21, potentially saving thousands of African lives annually.
Also read: You’re more likely to get tuberculosis if…
A Sh64.5 million ($0.5 million) AI-guided drug discovery programme for schistosomiasis also holds particular relevance for Africa, where this parasitic disease imposes devastating health and economic burdens on millions. Researchers from UK universities and Japan's BrightCore are using artificial intelligence to identify promising compounds that could replace praziquantel, the current standard drug, offering fresh hope for the millions of Africans living with this debilitating infection.
The largest single investment in the portfolio, Sh528.9 million ($4.1 million), supports development of an mRNA vaccine targeting vivax malaria, led by Thai and Japanese universities. While vivax malaria primarily affects Asia and Latin America, the innovative vaccine approach could inform future malaria research globally.
GHIT is also investing Sh141.9 million ($1.1 million) in early-stage drug discovery for Chagas disease, conducted by Eisai Co., Ltd., and partners in Argentina, and Sh77.4 million ($0.6 million) to register a point-of-care diagnostic for Chagas disease in Argentina and Bolivia, led by Barcelona's ISGlobal and Japan's Eiken Chemical. Chagas disease affects more than seven million people worldwide, primarily in Latin America.
The GHIT Fund, established as a public-private partnership between the Japanese government, pharmaceutical companies, the Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and the United Nations Development Programme, has invested Sh34.96 billion ($271 million) across 210 research partners since its 2013 inception.
As of December 2025, GHIT maintains 43 ongoing projects spanning the entire research continuum from early discovery through clinical trials and product registration. The portfolio includes 19 discovery projects, 12 preclinical projects, and 12 clinical trials.
