The project, known as ACOZI-KIDS, aims to:

• Assess a paediatric indication of acoziborole – a single-dose, oral treatment for Stage 1 and Stage 2 sleeping sickness caused by  T.b. gambiense  –  for children aged between 1 and 14 years old in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Guinea
• Disseminate the study results to facilitate the treatment of T.b. gambiense sleeping sickness in children

ACOZI-KIDS aims to make treatment of children with sleeping sickness much simpler. Giving an oral single-dose treatment at the point of diagnosis would avoid the need for costly hospitalisation in specialised health centres, painful lumbar punctures, and treatment using injections. As a result, it would be easier for children to complete the treatment and shorten the delay between diagnosis and effective treatment, which could contribute to stopping disease progression and avoid neurological disorders in this population.

The ACOZI-KIDS project brings together a consortium of European and African experts: DNDi, the National Control Programmes for Human African Trypanosomiasis (PNLTHA) of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Guinea, Epicentre, the Research Institute for Development (IRD), and the Nova University of Lisbon/Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (IHMT/NOVA). Local health care staff will be trained in the management of paediatric patients, which will strengthen the public health system for diagnosing and treating sleeping sickness.

Project update