Combatting neglected tropical diseases: The case of visceral leishmaniasis in Africa
Co-organised by: Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) Date and time: Monday 30 June 2014, 17:00-18:00 Place: Salon 7
Objectives of the meeting
- To provide an overview of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and the current epidemiological trends, including geographic variability, co-infection with HIV, and the post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) syndrome
- To provide an extensive overview of the holistic and coordinated strategy to address the current R&D needs to combat VL in Africa.
- To show the challenges of ensuring that research results lead to appropriate policies for the effective control of leishmaniasis in the region. A concrete example of the clinical trials conducted for the combination treatment Sodium Stibogluconate (SSG) & Paromomycin (PM) will be given
- To highlight the need for strengthening national and regional clinical research capacities in order to facilitate the development, delivery, and registration of new treatments for leishmaniasis. Here, the activities of the Leishmaniasis East Africa Platform (LEAP) will be introduced.
Expected outcomes
- Overview on the strengths of a global and holistic approach to address R&D gaps for visceral leishmaniasis
- Stimulate discussion on the R&D activities to combat visceral leishmaniasis and to reach the WHO NTDs Roadmap targets.
Registration
Forum participants can opt to attend this satellite meeting via the online registration system.
Programme
Chair: Dr. Daniel Argaw Dagne, Leishmaniasis Programme, Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, WHO
17:00-17:05 |
Dr. Daniel Argaw Dagne, Leishmaniasis Programme, Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, WHO Introduction and welcome |
17:05-17:20 |
Dr. Jorge Alvar, Head of Leishmaniasis Clinical Program,DNDi A global approach to combat visceral leishmaniasis The presentation introduces DNDi’s global coordinated strategy to cover the current R&D gaps of treatment and control of the human transmission of visceral Leishmaniasis through innovative mechanisms. View presentation [PDF | 1.3MB] |
17:20-17:35 |
Dr. Nathalie Strub Wourgaft, Medical Director, DNDi Translation of science into policy of new control tools for the management of African visceral leishmaniasis The presentation will introduce the pre-requests and the barriers that must be overcome in order to acquire approvals and achieve international standards when conducting clinical trials. It will provide a case-study of the combination treatment SSG&PM developed by DNDi and its partners to fight visceral leishmaniasis in East Africa. View presentation [PDF | 855KB] |
17:35-17:50 |
Dr. Monique Wasunna, Head of DNDi Africa Capacity strengthening to deliver a new first-line treatment for Kala Azar in East Africa: the leading role of the LEAP platform The presentation will provide an overview of the role of the LEAP Platform in building and retaining clinical trial capacities within disease-endemic countries and how such research networks can facilitate registration of and access to new treatments. View presentation [PDF | 4.4MB] |
17:50-18:25 |
Open discussion Dr. Daniel Argaw Dagne, Leishmaniasis Programme, Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, WHO |
18:25-18:30 |
Summary and ending conclusions |
|
Discussion to explore ways to support clinical trials for malaria and neglected tropical diseases
Participating partners: WWARN, DNDi, TDR & EDCTP Date and time: Tuesday 1 July 2014, 08:00-08:50 Place: Salon 3-4DNDi Medical Director Nathalie Strub Wourgaft is speaking about the impact of standardisation and quality assurance on drug development.Download programme [PDF | 53KB]
|