As the World Health Organization focuses on what universal health coverage means in 2019, we explore the global challenges and opportunities in the control of fungal infection.

Although we often think of fungal infection in a cosmetic context, only affecting aging populations and often in relation to fungal nail infection, fungal disease is a serious global public health concern.

Far from being merely cosmetic issue, fungal infection can be extremely serious and, particularly for those with compromised immune systems, life threatening. People living with HIV; cancer patients; people who are admitted to hospital; people who are critically ill after trauma or surgery; and premature babies are among those most at risk.
Fungal infections can affect anyone around the world but pose a serious threat to people with weakened immune systems, such as those who have cancer or HIV/AIDS, or who have suffered from poor diet, malnutrition or repeated illness. It is these at-risk people who often reside in economically-challenged settings, where diagnosis and treatment can be tough and fraught with complications is a global issue. Over 300 million people of all ages are estimated to suffer from a serious fungal infection. Every year over 1.66 million of these people are estimated to die.¹  When compared to deaths from headline grabbing diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis, that are fatal to 0.6 million and 1.5 million respectively, it’s hard to understand why there isn’t more of a discussion surrounding fungal infection and its disproportionate burden on developing nations.¹

But some fungal diseases can be extremely serious and, particularly for those with compromised immune systems, even life […]