Health systems modelling – demonstrating the potential impact of diagnostic and treatment integration of human African trypanosomiasis using different health system structures

Background Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) is a Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) targeted for elimination. The declining prevalence of infection will change the demands on health systems to effectively detect cases. Detection of HAT currently relies on vertical surveillance programs where patients are identified in their villages and then required to travel long distances to HAT treatment centres (HTC). New diagnostics and interventions could change the future of service delivery of case detection and treatment; as local services would reduce out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures and the inconvenience of travelling long distances. It is proposed that the integration of programs into the local health centres (LHC) could be modelled to forecast outcomes related to service delivery, patient accessibility, time spent in the system and resources used with current and new interventions.