• DNDi - Best Science for the Most Neglected 20 Years
  • Our work
    • Diseases
      • Sleeping sickness
      • Visceral leishmaniasis
      • Cutaneous leishmaniasis
      • Chagas disease
      • Filaria: river blindness
      • Mycetoma
      • Paediatric HIV
      • Cryptococcal meningitis
      • Hepatitis C
      • Dengue
      • COVID-19
      • Antimicrobial resistance
    • Research & development
      • R&D portfolio & list of projects
      • Drug discovery
      • Translational research
      • Clinical trials
      • Registration & access
      • Treatments delivered
    • Advocacy
      • Open and collaborative R&D
      • Transparency of R&D costs
      • Pro-access policies and IP
      • Children’s health
      • Gender equity
      • Climate change
      • AI and new technologies
  • Networks & partners
    • Partnerships
      • Our partners
      • Partnering with us
    • Global networks
      • Chagas Platform
      • Dengue Alliance
      • HAT Platform
      • HELP Helminth Elimination Platform
      • LEAP Platform
      • redeLEISH Network
    • DNDi worldwide
      • DNDi Switzerland
      • DNDi DRC
      • DNDi Eastern Africa
      • DNDi Japan
      • DNDi Latin America
      • DNDi North America
      • DNDi South Asia
      • DNDi South-East Asia
      • DNDi Southern Africa
  • News & resources
    • News & stories
      • News
      • Stories
      • Statements
      • Viewpoints
      • Social media
      • eNews Newsletter
    • Press
      • Press releases
      • In the media
    • Resources
      • Scientific articles
      • Our publications
      • Videos
    • Events
  • About us
    • About
      • Who we are
      • How we work
      • Our strategy
      • Our donors
      • Annual reports
    • Our people
      • Our leadership
      • Our governance
      • Contact us
    • Work with us
      • Working at DNDi
      • Job opportunities
      • Requests for proposal
  • Donate
DNDi - Best Science for the Most Neglected 20 Years
  • DNDi - Best Science for the Most Neglected 20 Years
  • Our work
    • Diseases
      • Sleeping sickness
      • Visceral leishmaniasis
      • Cutaneous leishmaniasis
      • Chagas disease
      • Filaria: river blindness
      • Mycetoma
      • Paediatric HIV
      • Cryptococcal meningitis
      • Hepatitis C
      • Dengue
      • COVID-19
      • Antimicrobial resistance
    • Research & development
      • R&D portfolio & list of projects
      • Drug discovery
      • Translational research
      • Clinical trials
      • Registration & access
      • Treatments delivered
    • Advocacy
      • Open and collaborative R&D
      • Transparency of R&D costs
      • Pro-access policies and IP
      • Children’s health
      • Gender equity
      • Climate change
      • AI and new technologies
  • Networks & partners
    • Partnerships
      • Our partners
      • Partnering with us
    • Global networks
      • Chagas Platform
      • Dengue Alliance
      • HAT Platform
      • HELP Helminth Elimination Platform
      • LEAP Platform
      • redeLEISH Network
    • DNDi worldwide
      • DNDi Switzerland
      • DNDi DRC
      • DNDi Eastern Africa
      • DNDi Japan
      • DNDi Latin America
      • DNDi North America
      • DNDi South Asia
      • DNDi South-East Asia
      • DNDi Southern Africa
  • News & resources
    • News & stories
      • News
      • Stories
      • Statements
      • Viewpoints
      • Social media
      • eNews Newsletter
    • Press
      • Press releases
      • In the media
    • Resources
      • Scientific articles
      • Our publications
      • Videos
    • Events
  • About us
    • About
      • Who we are
      • How we work
      • Our strategy
      • Our donors
      • Annual reports
    • Our people
      • Our leadership
      • Our governance
      • Contact us
    • Work with us
      • Working at DNDi
      • Job opportunities
      • Requests for proposal
  • Donate
Home > Statements

DNDi Executive Director Dr Bernard Pécoul’s address to the Kigali Summit on Malaria and NTDs

23 Jun 2022
Share on twitter
Share on facebook
Share on linkedin
Share on email
Share on print

The Kigali Summit on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases took place on the 23 June 2022 alongside the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). The Summit brought together world leaders to reaffirm commitments to end malaria and neglected tropical diseases.

DNDi Executive Director Dr Bernard Pécoul spoke at the panel discussion 'The Innovation Agenda'.

Dr Bernard Pécoul, Executive Director, DNDi

'It’s a great honour to be speaking here today and I would like to thank the Government of Rwanda for this excellent summit.

I was in London for the Declaration we made together in 2012 to control, eliminate or eradicate ten diseases by 2020. Ten years later, it is great to see the energy and renewed commitment of all actors to meeting the ambitions of the new WHO Roadmap on NTDs.

One of the most critical aspects for our success in meeting the goals of the WHO Roadmap to 2030 will be medical innovation.

Together, in the last twenty years, product development partnerships including my own organization, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, DNDi, have successfully delivered more than 65 health tools. These vaccines, medicines, and tests bring urgently needed solutions against diseases including malaria and NTDs.

Together, we have reached more than 2.4 billion people, including the most vulnerable women and children.  

This is an alternative non-profit research and development model that works.

DNDi itself has delivered twelve treatments in its first twenty years. Our ambition is to bring 25 new treatments by 2028, which is DNDi’s commitment to the Kigali Declaration.

When DNDi began, the only available treatment for sleeping sickness was based on arsenic. It was so toxic that it killed one in every twenty of the patients we treated. Patients were afraid to come for treatment, and as a doctor, I was afraid to give this medicine to people.   

There is no greater anguish for a doctor than to have no safe options to treat their patients. 

Today, twenty years later, thanks to medical innovation, we have a treatment, that removes the need for hospitalization. Instead of infusions of arsenic, we have a simple pill for 10 days.

The result is truly a revolution, because we now have a safe and effective treatment, and one that is possible at the primary healthcare level.  

It raises the hope for a disease-free generation, unlocking the potential for elimination of the disease once and for all. 

This was possible thanks to our partnerships with researchers, Ministries of Health, and hospitals in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and with WHO, Sanofi, and our partners in Angola, Congo, the Central African Republic, Chad, Guinea, Sudan, South Sudan, and Uganda. 

We need to replicate this success. We still lack tools for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment that are simple, safe, and effective – and that can be easily integrated into already overburdened health systems. For most NTDs, inadequate investment in medical research threatens progress towards sustainable disease elimination.  

If one thing is clear from my time at DNDi: it’s that the key ingredient of our success is partnerships. Our success is our partners’ success also – many of you have joined us in bringing the best science for the most neglected.  

I’d like to recognize here the commitment of many of you who are here today, in the room and online.

Like other product development partnerships, we are able to innovate because they are collaborative. We provide a bridge and bring together the unique experience and role of academic research, the pharmaceutical industry, and the public sectors.  

As we discuss what is needed to reach the targets of the WHO Roadmap, my call to our partners would be:  

  • To the public sector: we need political leadership to support local and regional innovation networks, and to ensure access to new treatments, and that they are integrated as part of countries essential package of care as part of commitments to universal health care.
  • To our partners in industry: we call on you to join forces with product development partnerships and make innovation possible. However valuable these efforts have been, the contributions of the pharmaceutical industry cannot be limited to giving donations of already existing treatments. We need you to engage in innovation and sustainable procurement. 

With sustainable funding, and closer relationships with private and public sector actors, we can replicate these successes. 

So that a child with leishmaniasis here in East Africa; a farmer with filariasis in India; or a teacher with Chagas disease in Brazil: all have easy access to testing and safe, easy to take treatment.  

Only when this becomes a reality, will we know that we have delivered on the promises we have all made today to the most neglected patients around the world.  

Thank you.'

Policy advocacy

Read, watch, share

Loading...
Davide Paparo and Ian Hausler with their thermotherapy device "CLARA"
Stories
16 Mar 2023

Cutaneous leishmaniasis: Swiss students develop innovative thermotherapy device for safer treatment of ‘flesh-eating parasite’

Stories
8 Mar 2023

Highlighting gender-based treatment gaps on International Women’s Day: Mary Alamak’s story

DNDi-GARDP Southern Africa director, Carol Ruffell (left), presents the December 2022 edition of HIV Nursing Matters and the 2022 paediatric ARV dosing chart to Bénédicte Schutz, Monaco’s Director of International Cooperation (centre), and Yordanos Pasquier, Monaco’s Deputy Director of International Cooperation (right).
News
3 Mar 2023

Working together to ensure optimal treatment for children living with HIV in South Africa

Nurse with patient
Press releases
1 Mar 2023

Fiocruz and DNDi sign strategic alliance agreement

VIEW ALL

Speak out

Please help us raise awareness by sharing this story.

Share on twitter
Share on facebook
Share on linkedin
Share on email
Share on whatsapp
DNDi - Best Science for the Most Neglected 20 Years
Facebook-f
Twitter
Instagram
Linkedin-in
Youtube
International non-profit developing safe, effective, and affordable treatments for the most neglected patients.

Learn more

  • Diseases
  • Neglected tropical diseases
  • R&D portfolio
  • Policy advocacy

Get in touch

  • Our offices
  • Contact us
  • Integrity Line

Support us

  • Donate
  • Subscribe to eNews

Work with us

  • Join research networks
  • Jobs
  • RFPs
  • Terms of Use   
  •   Acceptable Use Policy   
  •   Privacy Policy   
  •   Cookie Policy   
  •   Our policies   

  • Except for images, films and trademarks which are subject to DNDi’s Terms of Use, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Switzerland License   
We use cookies to track our audience and improve our content. By clicking 'Accept All', you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Click on 'Customize' to accept only some cookies.
Customize
REJECT ACCEPT ALL
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
CookieLawInfoConsent1 yearRecords the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie.
PHPSESSIDsessionThis cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
CookieDurationDescription
elementorneverThis cookie is used by the website's WordPress theme. It allows the website owner to implement or change the website's content in real-time.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_ga_16Q5RH3XRG2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics.
_gat_UA-10302561-11 minuteA variation of the _gat cookie set by Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager to allow website owners to track visitor behaviour and measure site performance. The pattern element in the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to.
_gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
_hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress30 minutesHotjar sets this cookie to detect the first pageview session of a user. This is a True/False flag set by the cookie.
_hjFirstSeen30 minutesHotjar sets this cookie to identify a new user’s first session. It stores a true/false value, indicating whether it was the first time Hotjar saw this user.
_hjIncludedInPageviewSample2 minutesHotjar sets this cookie to know whether a user is included in the data sampling defined by the site's pageview limit.
_hjIncludedInSessionSample2 minutesHotjar sets this cookie to know whether a user is included in the data sampling defined by the site's daily session limit.
_hjSession_112884430 minutesHotjar sets this cookie.
_hjSessionUser_11288441 yearHotjar sets this cookie.
CONSENT2 yearsYouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
Targeting
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo