South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) will collaborate with researchers in Kenya to develop nanomedicine technology aimed at revolutionizing treatment of communicable diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. Dr. Hulda Swai, the head of CSIR, said, “This technology is doable. It has the potential to enable early detection and prevention, and to essentially improve diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of diseases.” Sub-Saharan Africa bears the brunt of poverty-related diseases, and current therapies are inadequate due to poor adherence and the emergence of drug resistant strains. According to Dr. Swai, “…the drawbacks of conventional treatment necessitate the development of a delivery carrier system which can release the drug in a slow and steady manner over a period of time to the affected parts of the body.” Dr. Bernads Ogutu, a researcher at the Kenya Medical Research Institute, said nanotechnology gives Africa the opportunity to develop drugs customized for its market. “If successful it has the potential to bring down the cost of healthcare with minimal impact. We envisage that nanotechnology based drug delivery will improve patient compliance to treatment, drug resistant more effectively and reduce the infection rates,” he said.