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

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]