tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51121837432800728982024-03-13T02:10:59.383+00:00UK Coalition against Neglected Tropical DiseasesThe UK Coalition against Neglected Tropical Diseases is a partnership between UK organisations actively engaged in the implementation, capacity building and research of neglected tropical disease control at scale.Sightsavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11475550096273158897noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-48810935687408114462019-02-27T09:33:00.001+00:002019-02-27T09:36:07.754+00:00Success in tackling diseases of poverty shows why DFID is more important than everThe UK Coalition Against Neglected Tropical Diseases is gravely concerned about renewed calls within
Parliament to merge the UK Department of International Development (DFID) with the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office in order to deliver significant cuts to the UK’s international aid spend.<br />
<br />
Over the past few years, DFID has become a global leader in the fight against Neglected Tropical Diseases
(NTDs). These 20 diseases affect almost half of the global population. The suffering and debilitation these
diseases, including leprosy, trachoma, schistosomiasis and others cause, leads to poverty and by
implication, undermines international security and prosperity.<br />
<br />
DFID has been at the forefront of innovation, leading by example not only in terms of provision of
treatment, but also disease prevention through environmental and behavioural measures, while also
supporting the strengthening of local health systems. The results have been unprecedented:<br />
<ul>
<li>UK Aid provided through DFID is contributing to investments across research and development
for new and improved tools (drugs and diagnostics) and implementation of treatment and
prevention programmes for Chagas disease, Guinea worm disease, lymphatic filariasis,
onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminths, trachoma and visceral leishmaniasis </li>
<li>In 2016 alone, UK Aid funded NTD projects helped to distribute over 136 million treatments
across 27 countries. </li>
<li>UK Aid contributed to the elimination of onchocerciasis in Uganda and of trachoma in Ghana, and
drove the establishment of new government-led disease control programmes in Yemen and
Pakistan. </li>
</ul>
Contrary to the arguments put forward by DFID detractors, the removal of DFID will not deliver the
expected financial savings. Experience has shown that only an independent, dedicated department can
deliver the expertise and accountability, not only to achieve results but to sustain them over the long
term. Any short-term cost savings provided by DFID’s merger with the FCO will evaporate as NTDs
continue to erode national health budgets and drive further people into poverty. Additionally, the
absence of DFID will undermine rather than strengthen the UK’s power and influence on the global stage,
rather than enhance it, as some have suggested.<br />
<br />
Over the past 20 years DFID has emerged as a world-leader in development and gained a world-class
reputation for aid effectiveness. If the UK is to uphold its commitments on international development
while playing a leading part in a global and secure economy, DFID must remain a central pillar in our
government’s architecture.<br />
<br />
For media enquiries please contact: <a href="mailto:francis@globalhealthcomms.co.uk">francis@globalhealthcomms.co.uk</a>Frankohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13288193478737962645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-62496507902135832702019-01-25T22:00:00.000+00:002019-01-28T09:41:32.612+00:00Challenging prejudice and discrimination on World Leprosy Day 2019<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
by Geoff Prescott, Chief Executive, Lepra</div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mjQcBc7ECe4/XEuGrBiObMI/AAAAAAAAAQg/LMHn88N3OkYTKUqixIyXpHXB8gBQjdxmACLcBGAs/s1600/Geoff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1326" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mjQcBc7ECe4/XEuGrBiObMI/AAAAAAAAAQg/LMHn88N3OkYTKUqixIyXpHXB8gBQjdxmACLcBGAs/s320/Geoff.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Geoff Prescott, Executive Director, Lepra</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
World Leprosy Day 2019 comes at a time when leprosy at least
appears to be gaining some publicity in the mainstream media. Recent articles
about leprosy have been shared across India, as discriminatory laws, such as
leprosy being grounds for divorce are finally being removed from the statute
books there. However, there is far more work to be done to eliminate the
prejudice and discrimination remain two of the biggest obstacles the leprosy
community face in our battle to beat leprosy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At Lepra, we feel it is important to acknowledge that
“stigma” as a word does not cover the complex range of issues that people
affected by leprosy face and can even imply that they are somehow “to blame”
for their condition. Prejudice against the disease, leads to discrimination
which can lead to financial and societal hardships and for the individual and
their families and potentially mental health problems. Indeed 1 in 2 people
affected by leprosy are also suffering with a mental health issue. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We will shortly be launching a new position statement and
report, outlining our approach as we enter our 95<sup>th</sup> year.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our goals for World Leprosy Day 2019 and our 95<sup>th</sup>
year are twofold. Firstly, we are calling for more investment into research
into leprosy, how it is transmitted and can be treated. When Lepra was founded
in 1924, a cure seemed impossible to achieve, but with time and resources given
to research, it was indeed found and we were one of the first organisations to
use MDT in 1975. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Last year just $16m was invested into leprosy research. This
is something that can and must change . Investing in leprosy research via
facilities like our Blue Peter Health & Research Centre, should be seen by
business and governments as a wise investment in people, benefitting of all.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of equal importance is the need to tackle the discrimination
that people affected by leprosy face head on, first by acknowledging and
showing it for what it truly is– prejudice. This is ingrained and ancient,
prejudice against leprosy seems to be built in to every facet of human life and
could almost be seen as primal. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This prejudice can see them ostracised from their community
or family, lose jobs, partners, education opportunities and even their home. It
allows 157 laws to remain on statute books that directly discriminates against
people affected by leprosy and influences decisions on investment and resources
at the highest levels. This must change…Now!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To do this, we first need to change our own attitudes
towards leprosy, how we use the disease and words associated with it. In the
media, political arenas and in our day-to-day lives, language used can actually
have a real impact on either sustaining, or ending this prejudice.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For example, in 2019, nobody should be called a “leper” or
subjected to prejudice or discrimination because of a curable disease. Referring
to a “leper colony” when leprosy colony would equally do the job can, however
inadvertently reinforce that negative stereotype. People affected by leprosy
are often called “lepers”, they each have a name – how many other diseases see
those who are affected referred to by their disease?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This can cause terrible hurt to those
affected and is dehumanizing to say the least.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Using leprosy as a cipher for a worst-case scenario, or a
negative outcome is equally unacceptable. The phrase ‘social leper’ for example
perpetuates the stereotype and reinforces the prejudice people affected
encounter in their day-to-day lives. Other words are available such as
“outcast”, “pariah” that have the same meaning, yet leprosy becomes the “easy
one to use” and again reinforces the negative image. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Where even world leaders use leprosy as a means to describe
unfavourable or worst case outcomes, this also reinforces that leprosy is the
worst thing that can happen when it is simply untrue. When detected and treated
early, leprosy is not only completely curable but disability can be avoided. It
is less infections than many other diseases and 95% of us are immune. Leprosy
is far from a worst case scenario, yet is allowed to be viewed and treated as
one. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The genuine worst thing that can happen is to allow this
situation to continue.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You can help change this by signing our petition at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://bit.ly/BeatLeprosyWLD">http://bit.ly/BeatLeprosyWLD</a></span>
and pledging to no longer use the word “leper” or use leprosy as a metaphor or
expression of a negative outcome. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
People affected by leprosy are entitled to the same dignity
and respect we would hope for ourselves and we can change attitudes; it can be
done! Reversing prejudice amongst individuals and institutions will lead to the
day when we will beat leprosy…together!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Frankohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13288193478737962645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-83417587164831457842019-01-25T21:51:00.001+00:002019-01-25T21:51:15.945+00:00Thought for World Leprosy Day - The Leprosy Missionby Katherine Jones, Media and Communication Officer, The Leprosy Mission England and Wales.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
World Leprosy Day is commemorated every year on the last Sunday in January. The day was chosen to coincide with the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's death in 1948. Gandhi was himself a champion of people affected by leprosy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Leprosy is just one of many NTDs that still threaten
millions of people worldwide today. Like other NTDs, it is usually the poorest
and most marginalised who are most at risk. <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.leprosymission.org.uk/">The Leprosy Mission</a></span> is
working with other NTD-focused organisations, including <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.ilepfederation.org/">ILEP</a></span>, <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.searo.who.int/entity/global_leprosy_programme/en/">World
Health Organization</a></span>, <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.novartisfoundation.org/">Novartis Foundation</a></span> and
Leprosy People’s Organisations as part of the <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://zeroleprosy.org/">Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy</a></span>,
a consortium striving to end this ancient disease. The focus is around 3 main goals:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">ZERO TRANSMISSION –
ZERO DISABILITY – ZERO DISCRIMINATION <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">That leprosy
transmission is stopped</b> - over 200,000 new cases of leprosy are diagnosed
worldwide every year, that is one person newly diagnosed every two minutes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">That the lifelong
disabilities caused by the late detection of leprosy are prevented</b> - over six
million people worldwide suffer from serious physical impairments or mental
illness caused by leprosy, many of whom require surgery or rehabilitation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">That the laws and
practices that actively discriminate against people affected by leprosy are
repealed or stopped</b> - 157 laws across 29 countries actively discriminate
against people affected by leprosy. Read more about leprosy related stigma and
discrimination here from <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://indd.adobe.com/view/794531c5-0b0f-4b1b-bf24-5bf13bf15854">ILEP</a></span>
(the International Federation of Anti-leprosy Federation).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Within each of the Three Zeros, critical concerns need to be
addressed if leprosy is to be defeated in our lifetime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We need investment in research to develop a cost effective
early diagnostic test and to train both public and private sector health
workers to recognise and treat leprosy. Government commitment to active case
detection and early diagnosis is essential to stop the transmission of the
disease. This must be achieved, ideally using cross NTD approaches, if we are
to prevent impairments and lifelong disabilities - particularly in children. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Recent data from the World Health Organization, shows that
the proportion of children newly diagnosed with leprosy (out of the total of
all people newly diagnosed) is a shocking 9%. This indicates that the
transmission of infection is recent and ongoing in many poor communities. Yet it
seems likely that the percentage is significantly under reported due to limited
active case detection, and, that Government data collected for leprosy in
children is based on a child age of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">under
15 years</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and not 18 years</i></b> as per the UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child. We are failing our children. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This World Leprosy Day, The Leprosy Mission calls on Governments,
NGOs, Alice Cruz (The UN Special Rapporteur on the elimination of
discrimination against persons affected by leprosy), the World Health
Organization, the Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy and ILEP members to address
this under-reporting of children affected by leprosy and ensure the accurate
reporting of child cases (under 18 years). Only when we have the correct data
will programmes be able to assess the true situation and ensure services reach
children most at risk; children like Mahendra. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Mahendra <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gHseWqlfHKs/XEt8MpQo6GI/AAAAAAAAAQM/1cQWRTBcpiE5T57rCvRo2Q_CEndsXt-fACEwYBhgL/s1600/leprosy%2Bimage1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="891" data-original-width="668" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gHseWqlfHKs/XEt8MpQo6GI/AAAAAAAAAQM/1cQWRTBcpiE5T57rCvRo2Q_CEndsXt-fACEwYBhgL/s320/leprosy%2Bimage1.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In 2015 Mahendra's leg was amputated when he was 15</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mahendra is from Janakpur in the south-eastern Terai region
of Nepal. Like most of the Nepalese population, his family farm for a living. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At 10 years’ old, he developed cracked, dry skin on his feet
and lost the sensation in his toes. The cracks gradually enlarged, became
infected and developed into ulcers which did not heal. His family took him to
over 20 private hospitals to try to treat the condition, but the diagnoses were
wrong, and the treatments didn’t work. Meanwhile his ulcers worsened, and he
developed clawed fingers. By 14 years’ old, he had already lost several toes.
He finally received a diagnosis of leprosy at Lalgadh hospital. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Upon receiving the diagnosis, Mahendra was rejected by his
father and told not to return home from Lalgadh. He said, “my father hated me.
He thought he would catch leprosy from me. He didn’t want me around.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, he stayed at Lalgadh where he was treated
with multi-drug therapy. Although treated for the disease, the lack of
sensation in his feet worsened and he continued to injure himself. At the age
of 15, he suffered a severe fracture and was referred to The Leprosy Mission’s Anandaban
hospital (for more information see <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.healnepal.org.uk/">Heal Nepal</a></span>).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mahendra was assessed by the doctors at Anandaban and told
that the injury and tissue infection was too severe to be repaired or treated.
He needed an amputation below the knee. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dp7gg9sPPAs/XEuDutJoHZI/AAAAAAAAAQU/H1-6C7DRcVIaAPKuZwvADQbSnotI8iCGACLcBGAs/s1600/leprosy%2Bimage2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="753" data-original-width="1128" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dp7gg9sPPAs/XEuDutJoHZI/AAAAAAAAAQU/H1-6C7DRcVIaAPKuZwvADQbSnotI8iCGACLcBGAs/s320/leprosy%2Bimage2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In 2018 <i><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Mahendra had plastic surgery
to his hand</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After several months, he was ready to return home with a
prosthetic limb made at the hospital. He hoped that his father would accept
him, but he didn’t think it was likely.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite repeated phone calls, Mahindra’s father will not permit
him to return home.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When Mahendra leaves Anandaban Leprosy Hospital, Neal, he
will move to a leprosy community outside Kathmandu. However, his damaged hands may
make it difficult for him to earn a living. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<b>Leprosy is classified as a Neglected Tropical Disease by the World
Health Organization.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Leprosy is a mildly infectious, chronic disease caused by a
slowly growing bacterium, <i>Mycobacterium
leprae.</i> It can be completely cured by antibiotics known as multidrug
therapy or MDT. If left untreated, leprosy causes immense physical suffering
and disability, such as nerve damage, blindness and disfigurement of the face
and limbs. Its characteristic lack of sensation can lead to injury and loss of
fingers, toes or even limbs. The impairments, social stigma and
discrimination often mean those affected experience poor mental health.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Interventions are wide-ranging and holistic, not just
addressing the disease itself but also ensuring social inclusion and quality of
life. As well as medical work, areas of
activity include counselling, housing, water, sanitation, education,
employment, advocacy and empowerment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Leprosy Mission (TLM) is an international Christian
development organisation striving to defeat leprosy and transform lives. It
serves people affected by leprosy, other neglected tropical diseases and
disability. The England and Wales office
currently focuses its work in 10 countries where leprosy remains both a chronic
disease and a social challenge: Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Mozambique,
Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Sudan. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
TLM works with organisations that are specialised in other
NTDs to develop joint approaches to disease and disability prevention. NTDs
which can be treated easily alongside leprosy include: lymphatic filariasis, trachoma
and Buruli ulcer. <o:p></o:p></div>
Frankohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13288193478737962645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-26422162994490957242018-12-12T22:50:00.000+00:002018-12-12T22:50:02.749+00:00How the NNN is bringing sectors together to beat NTDs and achieve health for allby Prof KH Martin Kollmann, Leah Wohlgemuth<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">In 2016, in order to define how stakeholders can work together to
implement cross cutting approaches, the Neglected Tropical Disease NGO Network
(NNN) published </span><i><span style="color: #007396; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><a href="http://www.ntd-ngonetwork.org/best-framework"><span style="color: #007396; text-decoration-line: none;">The BEST framework: A comprehensive
approach towards NTDs</span></a></span></i><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">. This framework provides NTD stakeholders with
a comprehensive conceptual approach for NTD programming and details the diverse
cross-sectoral efforts needed to reach control, elimination and eradication
targets. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hXKjT3tuIng/XBGHzkSLT-I/AAAAAAAAAO8/UtLvTVcAIy8bmgimok8pBp--miJlg17RgCLcBGAs/s1600/kellman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="220" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hXKjT3tuIng/XBGHzkSLT-I/AAAAAAAAAO8/UtLvTVcAIy8bmgimok8pBp--miJlg17RgCLcBGAs/s1600/kellman.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prof KH Martin Kollmann</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">BEST, an acronym for <b>B</b>ehaviour,<b>E</b>nvironment, <b>S</b>ocial
inclusion and <b>T</b>reatment and care, moves away from
mass-treatment-focused medical approaches, such as preventive chemotherapy, and
integrates the broader causes and social effects of NTDs. As a conceptual
framework, BEST promotes human rights based comprehensive and inclusive NTD
work that is based on cross-sectoral collaboration and an effective continuum
of care from promotion to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and care. As
such it includes the cross cutting components of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
(WASH) as well as Disease Management, Disability and Inclusion (DMDI) as
central to success and sustainability.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">This paradigm shift requires engaging with and working
holistically with a broad range of development stakeholders. It includes
actively involving people affected by NTDs at all stages of programs, from
conception and planning to implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and
embedding cross-sectoral approaches and systems thinking into NTD work. To
support this transition a range of NNN cross cutting groups, such as the </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><a href="https://www.infontd.org/keytopic/wash-working-group">WASH Working Group</a></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> and the DMDI Working Group, have been established, bringing
together a diverse range of stakeholders to share experiences, develop tools
and identify preferred practices for comprehensive programming.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Through the DMDI Working Group, strategies are in development to
improve and mainstream the inclusion of people affected by NTDs and other
marginalized groups in all work. These complement and support other
stakeholders’ efforts to </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><a href="http://www.ntd-ngonetwork.org/blog/fighting-neglected-tropical-diseases-case-participation-and-human-rights-based-approaches">design
participatory and inclusive programs </a></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">in accordance with the BEST framework. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">A key priority of the WASH Working Group is the promotion of
"inclusive WASH", an approach to increase universal access and the
active and meaningful participation of affected people. Inclusive WASH recognizes
that marginalized and vulnerable people bring a unique insight to NTD programs
and should be consulted at all stages of NTD programs to make them accessible
and inclusive. People who have experienced disease, disability, stigma and
social exclusion take the programs closer to the communities they are designed
to benefit. This helps to ensure that infrastructure, such as hand and face
washing stations and latrines are accessible and appropriate to people with
disabilities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">Furthermore, because WASH activities to prevent diseases like
trachoma, schistosomiasis and soil transmitted helminths are often conducted in
schools, careful planning is required to ensure children with disabilities, who
are often excluded from schools, can access interventions and participate in
these programs. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
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</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OLnuNkN7FH8/XBGITtysWaI/AAAAAAAAAPE/qqsO83x-sJ0PasNzUZNOsQFFdv-J2v3yQCLcBGAs/s1600/wohlgemuth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="220" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OLnuNkN7FH8/XBGITtysWaI/AAAAAAAAAPE/qqsO83x-sJ0PasNzUZNOsQFFdv-J2v3yQCLcBGAs/s1600/wohlgemuth.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leah Wohlgemuth</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">Sharing lessons between these groups has led to a stronger
understanding of the importance of social inclusion and more systematic
engagement of disabled persons and women in WASH and NTD programs.
Organizations seeking to use the BEST framework can learn from these
experiences and engage in these platforms to increase program
effectiveness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Similarly, through task groups on “Indicators, Mapping and
mHealth”, “Interventions”, “Mental Wellbeing and Stigma”, “Participation,
Inclusion and Human Rights” and an upcoming group on “Livelihoods”, the DMDI
Working Group is working on strategies and resources, such as guidelines on
mental health and NTDs in collaboration with WHO. A dynamic cross-cutting NTDs,
Morbidity and Disability (NMD) toolkit, which addresses the urgent need
for quality data on disease complications and other aspects of disability among
NTD affected persons, is </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><a href="https://www.infontd.org/Toolkit">available online. </a></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span class="MsoHyperlink"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The success of such cross cutting groups is evident as more
stakeholders working on NTDs look to engage partners working across sectors and
adopt cross cutting approaches. Over the last year, three new NNN cross cutting
groups have formed, on Skin Related NTDs, Integrated Vector Control and
Conflict and Humanitarian Emergency. Further information on these cross cutting
issues is also being shared on <a href="https://www.infontd.org/"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">infoNTD</span></a>,
an online portal dedicated to making cross cutting NTD resources easily
available. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The importance of cross-sectoral collaboration and cross cutting
approaches are also being increasingly recognized by donors who have started to
specifically include details about behaviour, environment and social inclusion
along with preventive chemotherapy and morbidity management in their funding
requirements. For partners who are developing comprehensive and inclusive
programs, this provides the opportunity to mobilize additional resources, build
the evidence and enhance advocacy as the value of such holistic NTD work to
broader development issues is more and more recognised. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Comprehensive and inclusive NTD programs move beyond achieving
direct progress on Sustainable Development Goal 3.3, calling for an end to
NTDs. Through cross-sectoral collaborations, comprehensive approaches to NTD
programs will play a vital role in the achievement of other SDGs relating to
poverty (SDG 1), quality education (SDG 4), gender equality (SDG 5) and clean
water and sanitation (SDG 6). The BEST framework provides an important
opportunity for the NTD community to leverage broader development benefits and
contribute to the strengthening of health systems. This enhanced
systematic engagement of affected people, cross-sectoral partners and the NNN
working groups, will help to expand and forge new partnerships, develop and
refine strategies to ensure that programs remain effective and efficient in
reaching the world's most marginalized people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">About the authors: <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">Leah Wohlgemuth is Chair of the WASH Working Group and Regional
Technical Advisor at Sightsavers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">Professor KH Martin Kollmann is Chair of the DMDI Working Group
and Senior Advisor NTDs at CBM<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.trachomacoalition.org/news-blogs/how-nnn-bringing-sectors-together-beat-ntds-and-achieve-health-all"><span style="color: #1155cc;">This blog was originally published by the International
Coalition for Trachoma Control to mark Universal Health Coverage Day</span></a> </span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"></span>Frankohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13288193478737962645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-5884361036750225702017-04-14T15:01:00.000+01:002017-04-14T15:23:55.869+01:00The economic impact of Neglected Tropical Diseases on Women and Girls: exploring the evidence<span style="color: blue;"><b>UKCNTD briefing paper, April 2017 </b></span><br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="background-color: blue;"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="color: blue;">Background</span></span></span></h3>
<h3>
</h3>
Women and girls are disproportionately affected by NTDs due to both biological and social factors, and tend to shoulder the burden of caring for family members affected by these diseases. NTDs further exacerbate existing inequalities and the impact of NTDs can compound stigmatisation and increase barriers to inclusion faced by women. This is likely to have a profound impact on the economic prospects of women and girls, and, by implication, on their communities and societies. <br />
<br />
The new ambition catalysed by Agenda 2030 to ‘leave no one behind’ and eliminate poverty makes clear that interventions to achieve this must begin with the poorest communities and those excluded from society and from accessing all services. Achieving shared prosperity and sustainable development is impossible without addressing the rights and health of women and girls – and this is certainly true for the SDG target of ending the epidemic of NTDs. To deliver on this health and development commitment, it is essential to address the particular impact of NTDs on women and girls. To redress health inequalities and their determinants the NTD community must protect and promote the health and rights of women and girls. <br />
<br />
This brief uses currently available evidence to take stock of the economic impact of NTDs on women and girls and draw attention to the consequences and costs of failing to address these impacts at appropriate points in their lives, to formulate policy recommendations and programme solutions. A fully-referenced report will be made available at a later date.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="color: blue;">Evidence on Economic Impacts of NTDs </span></h3>
<h3>
</h3>
The economic impact of NTDs on the lives of women and girls is multi-faceted and intimately linked with their social status and roles within society.<br />
<br />
<h4>
<span style="color: blue;"><b>Stigma </b></span></h4>
<h4>
<b> </b></h4>
Many NTDs cause highly visible and stigmatising effects, such as deformation and scarring. Reasons for stigmatisation are similar across conditions, and include fear of contagion, being a burden on family, and the inability to fulfil gender roles. Stigma significantly affects the social and economic prospects particularly for women, both in terms of family life and formal employment. Emerging evidence suggests women are often particularly marginalized by stigma resulting from NTDs. In a qualitative study of lymphatic filariasis, women reported avoiding or delaying treatment, being shunned by partners, losing work opportunities and losing marriage prospects and career aspirations due to stigma and disability. Beliefs around aetiology of disease mean women are often thought to be to blame for their illness. In women, urinary schistosomiasis is considered to be a venereal disease with associated stigma, while it is considered a sign of virility in young men.<br />
<br />
<h4>
<span style="color: blue;">Reproductive and Maternal Health </span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="color: blue;"> </span></h4>
Anaemia is a common complication in pregnant and breastfeeding women, and is exacerbated by certain NTDs, leading to adverse maternal outcomes, low birth weight and infertility. NTDs can also increase the risk of HIV infection. Onchocercal skin lesions have been shown to significantly reduce duration of breast feeding due to itching. Although lymphatic filariasis itself does not generally affect perinatal outcomes, women with lymphatic filariasis have been reported to have poorer outcomes on account of being the least favoured wife in polygamous families, with resulting poorer access to antenatal and maternal health care. <br />
<br />
The reproductive cycle can also be a substantial obstacle to accessing treatment programmes, compromising the health of both mother and child. The links between birth weight, breast feeding and overall infant health and development are well-established. Caring for children, as well as for sick family members, is often the responsibility of women, shortening their working day and restricting the types of economic activity they can participate in.<br />
<br />
<h4>
<span style="color: blue;">Accessing Treatment</span></h4>
<h4>
</h4>
In many settings where women are subject to a disadvantaged position in the household, they also have limited autonomy, limited ability to access resources and to access care outside the home. Consequently, women are known to access formal health services less frequently than men, despite having similar or higher burden of disease. Accessing formal care can be difficult for women due to household responsibilities. This complicates treatment of certain diseases, for example leishmaniasis, where inpatient and/or daily outpatient visits may be required to manage toxicity. Inability of women to attend leads to higher morbidity and mortality. Stigma associated with leprosy also means male family members can be reluctant to escort women to formal health services, leading to poor treatment compliance. <br />
<br />
When accessing formal health care, women may face issues of staff demanding bribes, being rude and condescending, blaming women for their own ill health, and failing to provide a private environment for consultation. Cultural attitudes to physical examination mean lesions on breasts and genitalia, e.g. from lymphatic filariasis, can remain undetected as only arms and legs are examined. Some, but not all, treatments available for NTDs are safe for women who are pregnant and/or breastfeeding; however, lower skilled health workers are often not confident about these restrictions. Many women opt to skip treatment during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and as this can take up a significant proportion of their reproductive years, this means many women repeatedly miss treatment and are susceptible to more severe complications. <br />
<br />
Women reportedly have a greater tendency to access informal care such as traditional healers, particularly for stigmatised NTDs such as leprosy, but also other stigmatised conditions such as TB and certain gynaecological conditions. However, methods of treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis can include use of battery acid, gunpowder, petroleum and hot metal objects, which can exacerbate disfiguration and lead to tissue necrosis.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="color: blue;">Summary </span></h3>
<h3>
</h3>
The impact of NTDs on women and girls is embedded in the social structures around them. Stigma related to disfigurement and fear of contagion leads to social isolation and limited prospects for employment or marriage. Deteriorating socio-economic status in turn can lead to greater risk of contracting NTDs and suffering adverse outcomes. This vicious cycle is illustrated below.<br />
<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Cycle<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a> of
events linking NTDs, clinical, </span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma"; font-size: 10.0pt;">social and economic <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">outcomes</span></span></span></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.thiswormyworld.org/sites/www.thiswormyworld.org/files/uploads/docs/publications/UKCNTD%20NTDs%20women%20girls.pdf" target="_blank"> Click to download this briefing paper</a> [pdf]</b><br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: serif; font-size: 12.5751px; left: 381.407px; text-align: right; top: 840.648px; transform: scaleX(0.927868);">
This briefing paper was prepared by David Tordrup on behalf of the UKCNTD</div>
Frankohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13288193478737962645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-1142261379563254792016-05-04T08:07:00.000+01:002016-05-04T08:07:29.744+01:00Partnership and progress – building systems to achieve neglected tropical disease elimination<h3>
Huge progress has been made in the past four years in the fight against neglected tropical diseases, but the NTD community has a daunting challenge ahead if it is to meet elimination targets. What can be done to combat this?</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
The Uniting to Combat NTDs report <a href="http://unitingtocombatntds.org/report/fourth-report-reaching-unreached">Reaching the Unreached- Fourth progress report of the London Declaration on Neglected TropicalDiseases</a> released today centres on partnership and progress.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It reflects what has been achieved and what’s worked, as well as underlining areas the NTD community must focus on to continue to deliver progress.<br />
<br />
We know that addressing these diseases can unlock major reductions in health inequality and pave the way to better health for the world’s poorest people. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
By joining forces to fight NTDs, partners have come together to make huge strides in the four years since the London Declaration was signed and the successes, highlighted in the UTC report launched today are truly extraordinary: </div>
<div>
<br />
<ul>
<li>We are reaching more people than ever with much needed treatments - in 2015 alone 2.4 billion tablets were donated, leading to 1.5 billion treatments.</li>
<li>Our understanding of the disease burdens grows stronger with each disease and country that is mapped – most notably we have now mapped the world for trachoma in the largest infectious disease mapping project ever undertaken, with 2.6 million people examined with WHO-standardised <a href="http://www.sightsavers.org/gtmp/">Global Trachoma Mapping project</a> methodologies in 29 countries (representing a population of 224 million). </li>
<li>We’ve seen global political acknowledgement of NTDs with their inclusion for the first time in and international development framework under <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300">Sustainable Development Goal 3</a> on good health and well-being. </li>
<li>In 18 of 37 countries endemic for LF MDA has been stopped and we’re now into a post-MDA surveillance phase. </li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
Yet despite these staggering achievements, if we continue along the current trajectory we’ll struggle to reach global targets to eliminate these horrendous, painful and often debilitating diseases. <br />
<br />
The London Declaration recognises the importance of advancing research and development for the next generation of interventions for NTDs. As we approach elimination for some NTDs we will need more sensitive technologies to diagnose the last few cases. Having a full arsenal of tools including drugs, diagnostics and vaccines, to complement existing treatment will be critical in the drive to achieve elimination.<br />
<div>
<br />
<h4>
The question is: what can be done to safeguard the huge gains we have made to date and address the barriers that stand between meeting our targets?</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
In 2012 Margaret Chan, Director General of the WHO, noted that, <i><b>"If adequate sustainable capacity is not built into national health plans and strategy, it is unlikely that such a large number of endemic countries will simultaneously be able to scale up their programmes."</b></i><br />
<br />
It is well recognised that strengthened health systems are vital to maximising the impact of current and future investments in NTDs. But addressing this challenge in practical terms is tough. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Strengthening national systems</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In many countries ravaged by NTDs national systems struggle to support the delivery of donated treatment or to reach communities with surgical interventions or hygiene promotion and behaviour change services. They face understaffing, inadequate resources and must contend with challenges such as migration and a paucity of services in rural areas. <br />
<br />
Elimination requires broader system strengthening alongside new treatments and data collection, yet understanding the complex interactions of targeted NTD programmes and opportunities to engage with efforts to build health systems is exceedingly challenging.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Responding to the Sustainable Development Goals</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
To truly respond and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals we will need to continue this evolution and focus on new areas, including: equity in service delivery; building surveillance systems that will deliver and endure; and embedding actions to address the social and environmental risk factors that allow these diseases to flourish in the first place.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Staying ahead of the game</h4>
</div>
<div>
<br />
Health system strengthening within an NTD context is vital to address systems barriers to achieving elimination and to support scale-up of services and sustain progress. To stay ahead of the game in driving progress we need to agree and pursue clear pathways to health system strengthening.<br />
<br />
The NTD community needs to continue to contribute to efforts to strengthen systems to create the right environment to achieve the elimination of NTDs and ensure that those systems are strong enough to sustain elimination.
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Helen Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08878769463746690075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-57600125851550743022015-06-25T11:15:00.000+01:002015-08-05T12:05:55.108+01:00Report Launch: Investments in Neglected Tropical Diseases are one of the Best Buys in Development<i>Third progress report since the London Declaration on NTDs shows strong endemic country leadership, calls on partners to scale up efforts in order to reach WHO targets.</i><br />
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London, United Kingdom, 25 June 2015<i> </i>— A new report by Uniting to Combat NTDs highlights dramatic health and economic benefits from investing in combating neglected tropical diseases, making it one of the best buys in development.<br />
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The report, entitled <a href="http://www.schoolsandhealth.org/Shared%20Documents/3rd%20Report%20Uniting%20to%20Combat%20NTDs.pdf" target="_blank">Country Leadership and Collaboration on Neglected Tropical Diseases</a> and launched today in London, comes on the heels of increased attention to NTDs at the World Health Assembly and inclusion in the recent <a href="http://www.international.gc.ca/g8/g7_germany_declaration-g7_allemagne_declaration.aspx?lang=eng" target="_blank">G7 Leaders’ Declaration</a>. The report finds that countries are increasingly taking ownership of NTD programmes, have started providing new funding and are pursuing innovative approaches to combat these devastating diseases. Yet while these new methods have produced substantial progress, further scale-up is necessary to reach the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2020 targets.<br />
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“It is encouraging to see increased state-level engagement and strong leadership towards ownership of national control programs,” said Dr. Dirk Engels, WHO Director of the Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases. “Sustained political commitment, innovative domestic financing and greater coordination can bring about game-changing treatments and care to millions of people and improve the prospects of achieving WHO’s goal of universal health coverage against NTDs.”<br />
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<span style="text-align: start;">Helen Hamilton speaking at the UKCNTD co-hosted afternoon</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">of debate </span><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">and presentations by leading stakeholders from the </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">NTD community</span></div>
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Helen Hamilton speaking on behalf of the UKCNTD, said “This report recognises that investments in NTDs are truly a health and development ‘best buy’. NTDs affect over a billion people worldwide, so it’s absolutely crucial that we step-up investment and political commitment to reach our 2020 goals.<br />
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With the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set to be agreed later this year, 2015 is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to embed efforts to tackle NTDs in a global framework. The UKCNTD is committed to working with the new UK government to champion the fight against these devastating diseases on the global stage.”<br />
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Country Leadership and Collaboration on Neglected Tropical Diseases is the third progress report since a diverse public-private coalition of partners endorsed the 2012 London Declaration on NTDs, committing to achieve the WHO’s 2020 targets for 10 NTDs: diseases of poverty that that affect one in six people worldwide.<br />
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<h3>
NTD Programmes Provide an Enormous Return on Investment</h3>
NTDs keep children out of school, parents out of work, and cause stunting and impaired brain development, locking societies into endless cycles of poverty. According to the report, if countries achieve WHO’s 2020 targets, healthier citizens would generate an estimated US$623 billion in increased productivity between 2015 and 2030 – meaning that for each $US1 invested in NTD scale-up, endemic countries would see productivity gains of US$51 from 2015-2020 and US$184 for 2021-2030.<br />
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The report also shows for the first time the full burden of illness, disability, and deaths caused by NTDs, finding it at the same order of magnitude as the “Big Three” diseases: HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.<br />
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Affected Countries are Increasingly Leading the Fight against NTDs</h4>
Endemic countries are increasing domestic funding for NTDs and innovating to find new ways to deliver critical drugs. In doing so, they are improving coverage rates and making strides toward eliminating these diseases, with many already achieving elimination goals for individual diseases.<br />
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Key statistics:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Global coverage is increasing: approximately 785 million people (43% of at-risk populations) were reached with at least one drug, compared to around 35% in 2008.</li>
<li> 126 cases of Guinea worm disease were reported in 2014, a staggering 99.99% drop since 1986. Only 5 cases have been reported so far in 2015. </li>
<li>Of the 81 countries endemic for Lymphatic filariasis (LF), 25 countries (31%) are no longer in need of mass drug administration (MDA), including 10 which have successfully eliminated transmission. </li>
<li>Fewer than 4,000 new cases of human African trypanosomiasis (also known as sleeping sickness) were reported to WHO last year, the lowest level in at least 75 years.</li>
</ul>
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Since December 2014, 27 Ministers of Health pledged to take ownership and increase local investment in NTD efforts as part of the Addis Ababa NTD Commitment. Several countries have already taken on primary responsibility for financing their NTD programs: Bangladesh and the Philippines pay for 85% and 94% of their NTD programs, respectively, and Honduras recently became the first Latin American country to launch a national NTD programme fully financed by the government.<br />
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"The global effort to control and eliminate neglected tropical diseases must be led by the countries themselves,” said Kesetebirhan Admasu, Minister of Health, Ethiopia. “Through the Addis Commitment, and with the support of the international community, we will do whatever is necessary to see an end to these terrible diseases."<br />
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<b>Global Coalition, Including Private Sector, Champions New Way to Help World’s Poorest </b><br />
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The backbone of these efforts is a diverse and committed public-private partnership that champions a new way of improving the lives of the world’s poorest people. As part of this partnership, pharmaceutical companies have donated 3.5 billion NTD treatments since the launch of the London Declaration and are committed to donate about $17.8 billion worth of NTD drugs through 2020, making it the largest drug donation programme in the world. Since 2012, there has been a 36% increase in donated drugs.<br />
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“Debilitating illnesses like lymphatic filariasis are on the retreat, partly due to public-private partnerships that help make sure donated medicines and essential healthcare reach those who need them most,” said Andy Wright, vice-president for global health programmes at GSK and chair of the Partnership for Disease Control Initiatives. “These collective efforts provide a powerful blueprint for working together to free communities from the burden of disease and enabling them to thrive.”<br />
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Other partners are collaborating to find innovative ways to advance NTD progress. This includes the Global Trachoma Mapping Project, the largest infectious disease mapping exercise in history; the formation of a Global Schistosomiasis Alliance to improve coverage for the disease and galvanize progress; an NTD modelling consortium aimed at better understanding effective control strategies in particular settings; and innovative research into new drugs, diagnostic tools and operational approaches. <br />
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<b>Confronting Challenges</b><br />
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Despite progress, the report identifies several areas where progress must be accelerated: <br />
<ul>
<li>Coverage rates: While more people are being reached, improvement in many places remains too low to achieve set goals. A scorecard released with the report shows progress against schistosomiasis lags behind other diseases despite the availability of a simple treatment.</li>
<li>New diagnostics and tools: Reaching WHO roadmap targets for a number of these diseases relies on new diagnostics and tools, some of which are still in development, underscoring the importance of prioritizing research and development.</li>
<li>Funding: Scaling up programmes to address these gaps requires additional funding. The report cites an annual delivery funding gap of US$200-300 million between now and 2020. The WHO estimates that low- and middle-income countries could fully fund their share of universal coverage against NTDs with less than 0.1% of domestic spending on health.</li>
</ul>
"We have known for some time that investing in NTDs is a best buy in development,” said Lisa Rotondo, Project Director at RTI International. “There are still challenges ahead, but the NGO community is committed to reaching the targets established by WHO, and we welcome additional collaborators in support of endemic countries."<br />
<br />Frankohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13288193478737962645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-45288908792538425822015-06-22T13:12:00.002+01:002015-06-22T13:15:53.460+01:00G7 leaders commit to the NTDs fightThe G7 Summit was held in Krün, Germany on June 7–8, 2015.<br />
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The Coalition is delighted to report that the Leaders Declaration developed following the Summit discussions included the following paragraphs on Neglected Tropical Diseases:<br />
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"We commit ourselves to the fight against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). We are convinced that<br />
research plays a vital role in the development and implementation of new means of tackling NTDs. We will work collaboratively with key partners, including the WHO Global Observatory on Health Research and Development. In this regard we will contribute to coordinating research and development (R&D) efforts and make our data available. We will build on efforts to map current R&D activities, which will help facilitate improved coordination in R&D and contribute to better addressing the issue of NTDs. We commit to supporting NTD-related research, focusing notably on areas of most urgent need. We acknowledge the role of the G7-Academies of Science in identifying such areas. In particular, we will stimulate both basic research on prevention, control and treatment and research focused on faster and targeted development of easily usable and affordable drugs, vaccines and point-of-care technologies.<br />
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As part of our health system strengthening efforts we will continue to advocate accessible, affordable, quality and essential health services for all. We support community based response mechanisms to distribute therapies and otherwise prevent, control and ultimately eliminate these diseases. We will invest in the prevention and control of NTDs in order to achieve 2020 elimination goals.<br />
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We are committed to ending preventable child deaths and improving maternal health worldwide, supporting the renewal of the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health and welcoming the establishment of the Global Financing Facility in support of “Every Woman, Every Child” and therefore welcome the success of the replenishment conference in Berlin for Gavi, the Global Vaccine Alliance, which has mobilized more than USD 7.5 billion to vaccinate an additional 300 million children by 2020. We fully support the ongoing work of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and look forward to its successful replenishment in 2016 with the support of an enlarged group of donors. "<br />
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<a href="http://www.schoolsandhealth.org/Shared%20Documents/Leaders%20Declaration%20G7%20Germany%202015%20Summit.pdf" target="_blank">Download The Full Declaration</a>Frankohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13288193478737962645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-79959902764223183512015-03-07T09:00:00.000+00:002015-03-11T14:04:50.857+00:00Triple jeopardy: tackling the discrimination facing girls and women with leprosyGirls and women with leprosy are triply discriminated against because of their gender, the disabilities that can result from the disease and the impact of its stigma is the key message of a new report by the <a href="http://www.ilep.org.uk/" target="_blank">International Federation of Anti-Leprosy Associations</a> (ILEP).<br />
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The report which is published on 6th March 2015 highlights practical actions which need to be taken so that healthcare systems cease to fail girls and women by detecting leprosy early enough to prevent disability and remove barriers to inclusion in society.<br />
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“<a href="http://www.ilep.org.uk/leprosywomenstigmareport/" target="_blank">Triple jeopardy: tackling the discrimination facing girls and women with leprosy</a>” emphasises that women in some countries are less likely than men to be diagnosed early. Improved access to diagnosis and treatment are essential for a better outcome.<br />
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The report warns that the new United Nations Sustainable Development goals, due to be agreed in October 2015, will fail in their aim to “leave no one behind” if discrimination against girls and women affected by leprosy is not tackled. They have become invisible and lost their rights to health, education, employment and to marry and have a family.<br />
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Late detection and diagnosis is caused by the lack of access to information, education and literacy. A very real fear that the stigma of leprosy can lead to rejection by the family and wider community can result in girls and women ignoring or hiding their early symptoms.<br />
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“When I got this disease, the attitude of the family and society changed completely. They deserted me, which made me heartbroken even more and made me think, why is this happening?”<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XKkWiOVybgY/VPnkvFhBwQI/AAAAAAAAAGs/503h8Fs3iMk/s1600/Rachna%2Bat%2Bhome.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XKkWiOVybgY/VPnkvFhBwQI/AAAAAAAAAGs/503h8Fs3iMk/s1600/Rachna%2Bat%2Bhome.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Rachana, Lokdoot (Community Health<br /> Ambassador) with Lepra in India</span></td></tr>
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Rajobala Dutt lives at The Leprosy Mission’s Purulia snehalaya (mercy home) in West Bengal, India, where older people affected by leprosy who have nowhere else to go are cared for.<br />
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She said: “Someone told my husband my symptoms were that of leprosy and that he should take me away from the village and leave me to die. He was told by the villagers that he had to choose between his wife and living in the village. If I remained he would not be allowed to use the water or get employment. So my husband told me to go away and die somewhere and that he would dig the grave.”<br />
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Thankfully Rajobala came into contact with The Leprosy Mission and her leprosy was treated.Frankohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13288193478737962645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-45319763408857760442015-02-24T09:43:00.001+00:002015-02-24T10:24:42.595+00:00Parliamentary Launch for UKCNTD's Annual NTD Report<a href="http://bit.ly/1DcawHo" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bW358crs2ZQ/VOxG98eYzsI/AAAAAAAAAGM/yRXlhqpBW9Y/s200/UKCNTD%2B2015%2Breport.jpg" /></a>Great strides have been made in the battle against Neglected Tropical Diseases but more needs to be done for the 1 in 5 people whose lives are still blighted by these diseases. This is one of the key messages of the <a href="http://bit.ly/1DcawHo">2014-2015 Report for the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases</a> (download <a href="http://bit.ly/1DcawHo">http://bit.ly/1DcawHo</a> ), launched at a special meeting in the UK Houses of Parliamentary on Tuesday 24th February.<br />
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The report outlines the advances that have been made over the last 12 months to control and eliminate diseases which affect 1.4 billion of the world’s poorest people through mortality, morbidity, disability and stigma. <br />
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NTDs are a key barrier to attainment of global development goals and poverty reduction. <br />
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Jeremy Lefroy MP, Chairman of the APPG, said:<br />
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“Ebola has shone a spotlight on the importance of building health systems to address challenges such as insufficient numbers of qualified health workers and inadequate surveillance and information systems equipped to respond rapidly to new and existing health challenges. Neglected Tropical Diseases affect the world’s poorest communities. They must remain a global health priority post-2015.”<br />
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The Coalition makes eight recommendations. The report encourages the UK Government to:<br />
<ul>
<li>maintain its financial commitment to NTD programmes</li>
<li>ensure that the Department for International Development (DFID) disability framework and forthcoming health system framework support a response to NTDs </li>
<li>ensure that DFID supports country governments to equip their health systems to deliver essential NTD interventions</li>
<li>support the full range of research and development for NTDs</li>
<li>promote a cross-sectoral NTD response</li>
<li>promote the partnership model exemplified by the NTD response</li>
<li>continue to champion international investments for NTDs by supporting the inclusion of NTDs in the Sustainable Development Goals</li>
<li>highlight the successes achieved with UK government investment and urge other governments and institutions to contribute more to the fight against NTDs</li>
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Good, competent, transparent government, specialist expertise and more health workers are all necessary ingredients to combat NTDs.
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Helen Hamilton, Chair of the Coalition said;
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“In the last five years of this Parliament much progress has been made. Due to the commitment of the government the UK is a world leader in fighting these devastating diseases.
But we need to maintain and increase this investment if we are to achieve the international community's 2020 target of eliminating and controlling these terrible diseases.”
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<a href="http://bit.ly/1DcawHo">Download the Annual Report</a> from - <a href="http://bit.ly/1DcawHo">http://bit.ly/1DcawHo</a> <br />
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For further information about this report, please contact <a href="mailto:f.peel@imperial.ac.uk" target="_blank">Francis Peel</a>Frankohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13288193478737962645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-61683230510596785372015-01-26T14:25:00.000+00:002015-01-26T15:55:41.177+00:00Integrating Leprosy and Disability into the Sustainable Development GoalsBy <a href="http://www.leprosymission.org.uk">Charlotte Walker</a> and <a href="http://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/f.peel">Francis Peel</a> on behalf of the UK Coalition against NTDs<br />
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World Leprosy Day 2015 on 25 January focuses attention on a truly debilitating disease, but whilst world commemoration days often stand in splendid isolation when it comes to development initiatives the same should not be said for leprosy control and treatment programmes. The UKCNTD believe leprosy-affected people and those living with disabilities need to be included in mainstream and NTD-specific development programmes so that they can experience the same benefits as their able-bodied counterparts.<br />
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<span style="color: #20124d;"><b>The UKCNTD believe leprosy-affected people and those living with disabilities need to be included in mainstream and NTD-specific development programmes..</b></span></div>
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Globally one billion people live with a disability, 80 per cent of these in low and middle income countries (DFID 2014). Disability is a reality for many of the 1.5 billion people living with the consequences of NTDs.<br />
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<h4>
<b>A Human Right</b></h4>
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The UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities states that people with disabilities have equal rights and must be included in development processes. Yet many development programmes do not include disability, with claims that it is too expensive, does not offer value for money or is simply too difficult to implement.<br />
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Interviews conducted by UKCNTD member, <a href="http://www.leprosymission.org.uk/about-us-and-leprosy/">the Leprosy Mission England and Wales</a>, with more than 5,000 leprosy-affected people from nine countries across Africa and Asia revealed that although they had seen changes around them, they did not feel they had benefited from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).<br />
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2015 provides the global community with an opportunity to put this right. In 2016 the MDGs will be replaced by the SDGs (AKA the Sustainable Development Goals), what exactly these goals are is still open to debate but if we are to reduce poverty and improve the health, education and lives of disadvantaged communities we need to ensure no-one is left behind. We need inclusion to be our watchword.<br />
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<h4>
Walking with heads held high</h4>
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Disability-inclusive development can have truly impressive impacts on some of the poorest and most marginalised communities. An example of this is the EC-funded Food Security for the Ultra Poor in Bangladesh in which a consortia of development partners provided a range of interventions to poor communities in Bangladesh The Leprosy Mission provided technical expertise and spearheaded the leprosy and disability components of this life-changing project which has seen more than 900 leprosy-affected families (out of a total of 40,000 beneficiaries) benefit from a new source of income.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gg8FGPHg8Yo/VMZG3qvnFYI/AAAAAAAAAFs/jP0OSmmp5dE/s1600/Momina%2BBangladesh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gg8FGPHg8Yo/VMZG3qvnFYI/AAAAAAAAAFs/jP0OSmmp5dE/s1600/Momina%2BBangladesh.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Leprosy suffer Momina was provided </span><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">with </span><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">livestock</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"> to enable her to earn </span><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">a living. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Image courtesy of Leprosy Mission</span></div>
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The majority are women-headed families, some as a result of their husbands being unable to work because of leprosy-caused disabilities. Others are leprosy-affected women desperately needing an income. Women living with disabilities are doubly disadvantaged and subject to high levels of abuse (DFID, 2014).<br />
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One woman who has faced these issues is Momina, a 50 year mother of four from Gaibandha in northern Bangladesh. When Momina’s husband found out she had contracted leprosy he divorced her and took their children with him.<br />
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Despite being shunned by villagers, Momina’s brother gave her a place to stay. Her feet are numb as a result of leprosy-caused nerve damage and she cannot walk far without developing ulcers that, if they become infected, could result in her lower legs being amputated. This greatly limits her earning capacity. But Momina wants to work, not least to repay the debt she feels she owes her brother.<br />
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As part of the project Momina was provided with livestock to earn a living and was able to access rehabilitation services including physiotherapy, occupational therapy and the provision of assistive devices including protective footwear, wheelchair and crutches. 70 per cent of people who received these services noticed positive changes in their ability to perform livelihood activities. <br />
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Empowering self-help</h4>
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Another example of this approach is provided by fellow UKCNTD member, <a href="https://www.lepra.org.uk/">Lepra</a>, which in 2014 led on a project supporting 155 self-help groups in Bangladesh with a total of 1,069 members.<br />
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All members are leprosy-affected and as well as offering emotional support to one another, they receive training in self-care and, crucially, skills to rebuild lives and incomes. Over the last three years, beneficiary income has increased by one third in the Bogra district of Bangladesh as a result of the groups.<br />
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Disability-inclusive interventions such as these empower individuals to hold their heads up high within their communities by providing them with the ability to live a normal life.<br />
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For the sake of people like Momina, the UKCNTD, through its members, will be working with policy and decisions makers so that by World Leprosy Day 2016 the SDGs will enshrine a development approach that is truly inclusive and integrated.Frankohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13288193478737962645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-51048919379018573422015-01-22T12:49:00.002+00:002015-01-22T13:44:23.701+00:00A Pivotal Year for NTDs<br />
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<a href="http://www.gatesnotes.com/2015-annual-letter?page=0&lang=en&WT.mc_id=01_21_2015_AL2015-GF_TW_PromoTile_Top_20"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2lgpED_utxU/VMDubEl0iZI/AAAAAAAAAFE/rvRyUMloWcI/s1600/Gates_letter.jpg" height="196" width="320" /></a></div>
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The release of the <a href="http://www.gatesnotes.com/2015-annual-letter?page=0&lang=en&WT.mc_id=01_21_2015_AL2015-GF_TW_PromoTile_Top_20" target="_blank">Bill and Melinda Gates Annual Letter</a> includes a call to action for the international development community to prioritise neglected tropical diseases and commit to ending four diseases – guinea worm, elephantiasis, river blindness and blinding trachoma - by 2030.<br />
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As Bill and Melinda Gates have emphasised, we’re at a pivotal moment in the fight to combat neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)- which affect over one billion people living in poverty.<br />
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Investment in NTDs is a smart bet- they’re known to be one of the ‘best buys’ in global health. The NTD community knows what works to combat these diseases and has a clear and ambitious plan to end the misery and ill health caused by these diseases.<br />
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The UK is a world leader in its commitment to the global effort to rid the world of neglected tropical diseases. UK investments by the Department for International have supported <a href="http://trachoma.org/over-half-million-people-checked-trachoma-global-mapping-project">world’s largest disease mapping project for trachoma</a>, and support efforts to <a href="https://dfid.blog.gov.uk/2011/10/19/finishing-the-job-on-guinea-worm-disease/">make guinea worm only the second human disease in history to be fully eradicated</a>.<br />
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<td><h4>
"We call on all UK parties to make NTDs a development priority for the next UK government."</h4>
</td>
<td>2015 is a pivotal year for NTDs. As we approach the UK general election we call on all UK parties to make NTDs a development priority for the next UK government. The investment made in combatting these diseases to date is paying off and we’re making huge strides. It’s crucial now that we protect these successes and continue to build on them.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
Frankohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13288193478737962645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-60717005923210859402014-07-16T11:30:00.001+01:002015-01-22T13:00:47.730+00:00Nigeria champions integrated approach to NTDs at the World Health Assembly <div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">By
</span><a href="http://www.sightsavers.net/about_us/media_centre/gat_spokespeople/18643.html"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Helen Hamilton</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">, on behalf of the <a href="http://ntd-coalition.blogspot.co.uk/">UK Coalition against NTDs</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The
first six months of 2014 has already seen a number of milestones reached for
the international neglected tropical disease (NTD) community, including the
successful NTD-focused side event at the 67th </span><a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/2014/wha67/en/"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">World Health Assembly</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> (WHA) in May and the
celebration of progress made on eliminating river blindness by the African
Programme for Onchocerciasis Control </span><a href="http://endtheneglect.org/tag/apoc/"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> at the
World Bank</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">.
A running theme throughout the discussions
at these events has been the importance of taking an integrated approach to
eliminating a number of NTDs by the end of the decade.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yI3_tibGkoc/U8ZThq7bpBI/AAAAAAAAAEY/zNE89QgmiEY/s1600/USAID+WHA+photo2+wendy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yI3_tibGkoc/U8ZThq7bpBI/AAAAAAAAAEY/zNE89QgmiEY/s1600/USAID+WHA+photo2+wendy.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">UKCNTD's Dr Wendy Harrison. <br />
Image courtesy of US Mission</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">But what does ‘an integrated approach’ mean in practice? </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">It may
mean integration of disease specific interventions into broader public health
systems, across different groups of diseases, or integration across sectors. Integration
is not just another buzzword, but a real approach to effectively controlling this
group of diseases. </span><a href="http://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/future_of_global_poverty.pdf"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Both</span></a> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">evidence and common sense tell us that we cannot
expect to achieve and sustain our NTD control and elimination goals unless we also
tackle the underlying causes – namely the provision of safe water, sanitation
and hygiene facilities (WASH) and health
care access - and do so in a joined-up way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">One example where </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">integration is yielding results is in Nigeria. As a country with one of the heaviest burdens
of NTDs globally, and one which has successfully launched its ‘NTD masterplan’
(a multi-year national plan to control and eliminate several NTDs under the <a href="http://unitingtocombatntds.org/resource/london-declaration">London
Declaration</a>), it offers a wealth of valuable insights. The WHA side event in May, which was hosted
by the Nigerian government and supported by </span><a href="http://ntd-coalition.blogspot.co.uk/p/home.html"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">the UK Coalition against NTDs</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">, south-south sharing
of learning was central to the discussion.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Nigeria’s
</span><a href="http://www.health.gov.ng/"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Minister of Health</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">, Professor Onyebuchi
Chukwa, and the Director of Public Health, Dr Bridget Okoeguale, highlighted
what they see as the foundation of success in combating these diseases: building
stronger health systems, equipped to deliver and sustain effective control
programmes alongside interventions grounded in a public health approach. To
this end, Dr Okoeguale highlighted that Nigeria is working to embed NTD care
within primary health care structures to bring together preventive and curative
care. She called on the NTD and WASH sectors to work together across
departments responsible for Environment, Water, Education, Housing and Media. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">This
is certainly an approach supported through the Nigerian NTD elimination
programme led by </span><a href="http://www.sightsavers.net/"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Sightsavers</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">, where both local
government and global donors such as the UK government aid agency, </span><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-international-development"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">DFID</span></a>,<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> have committed funds
to control several NTDs. The success of this
programme rides on all parties collaborating under a united goal and sharing
knowledge and resources. The programme is designed to support the strengthening
of the Nigerian health system alongside delivering targeted interventions to
eliminate NTDs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">During
the WHA event, this approach was supported by both the World Health
Organization and international donors, including representatives from DFID and </span><a href="http://www.usaid.gov/"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">USAID</span></a>,<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">who
emphasised the investments being made into WASH programmes in NTD endemic
countries. Dr <a href="http://www.imperial.ac.uk/AP/faces/pages/read/Home.jsp?person=w.harrison&_adf.ctrl-state=h6st866mt_3&_afrRedirect=1843186234210780">Wendy
Harrison</a>, Chair of the UK Coalition against NTDs reiterated the importance
of cross-sectoral collaboration to meet the <a href="http://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/NTD_RoadMap_2012_Fullversion.pdf">WHO
2020 roadmap goals</a> and the need to embed and standardise monitoring of the
impact of NTD programmes on health systems. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">All parties at the event were in clear agreement that
cross-sectoral integration is vital and that without access to safe effective
WASH and health services, NTD elimination will not be possible. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">However, whether or not this happens
will depend on the level of political will, leadership and resources dedicated
to achieving our goals in a sustainable way. As the recent </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">announcement </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">of £39m by the British Government to help support the
elimination of trachoma in highly endemic countries in sub-Saharan Africa
reminds us, NTDs have never been as well supported or as prominent on the
global health agenda. However there still remains a global $200million per year
funding gap that needs to be addressed if we are to meet the ambitious goals of
control and elimination as laid out in the 2012 London Declaration. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">We
need to make sure that we </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">leverage these global commitments and this momentum
to achieve our goals in a way that builds systems to provide safe and effective
WASH and health services, and delivers on our commitment to control and eliminate
these diseases </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">in a sustainable way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Download ‘<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://www.schoolsandhealth.org/Shared%20Documents/The%20Power%20of%20Integration_WHA%20report%202014.pdf">The
Power of Integration: A report from the WHA 2014’</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Frankohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13288193478737962645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-79272949236199459032014-05-09T17:04:00.001+01:002014-05-15T16:51:44.898+01:00Be part of the NTD discussion at the World Health Assembly on 22 May<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cCc4ZpTaSg8/U2zntW4Ji3I/AAAAAAAAADs/tomrqAUIdvs/s1600/Nigeria+gov.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cCc4ZpTaSg8/U2zntW4Ji3I/AAAAAAAAADs/tomrqAUIdvs/s1600/Nigeria+gov.jpg" height="175" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="text-align: left;">The UKCNTD are joining forces with the Federal Ministry of Health in Nigeria to host a special session to discuss the evolution of integrated and cross-sectoral approaches to the control and elimination of NTDs. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: left;">
Entitled <a href="http://www.schoolsandhealth.org/Document%20Library%20Hidden%20Items/WHA%20flyer.pdf" target="_blank">'The Power of Integration: Achieving the control and elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases'</a>, this interactive forum will hear from internationally renowned experts, policy makers and donors about current best practices and the latest innovative implementation strategies being employed by endemic country governments and their development partners. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: left;">
<b>Speakers include:</b><br />
<br />
Chair: Dr Maria Neira, Director, Public Health and the Environment Department, WHO<br />
Opening: Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu, Minister of Health, Nigeria</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;"></li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Dr Bridget Okoeguale, Director of Public Health, Nigeria</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Dr Dirk Engels, Director, Dept of Control of NTDs, WHO</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Ministry of Health, Tanzania</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Dr Wendy Harrison, Chair, UK Coalition against NTDs</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Nichola Cadge: Health Adviser, DFID</li>
</ul>
<div>
We hope to announce additional high profile speakers in the run up to this event.</div>
<br />
For those who will be in Geneva on the 22nd the meeting's vital statistics are:<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Time:</b> 12.15 –
13.45<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Venue:</b> Room XXIII
(23)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>RSVP: </b><span style="color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black;"><a href="mailto:a.hulme@malariaconsortium.org">a.hulme@malariaconsortium.org</a></span> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 93%;">
</span></div>
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<b>Lunch and
refreshments will be provided<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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For those who can't make the meeting you can follow the proceedings live on<b> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/uk_ntd" target="_blank">@UK_NTD</a></b></div>
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Frankohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13288193478737962645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-86617505030341160262014-04-11T17:28:00.001+01:002014-04-11T17:28:14.650+01:00Taking the Neglect out of Neglected Tropical Diseases - Paris 2014<span style="line-height: 1.6;">Two years after the landmark </span>
<a href="http://www.schoolsandhealth.org/Shared%20Documents/Downloads/London%20Declaration%20on%20Neglected%20Tropical%20Diseases.pdf" style="line-height: 1.6;">London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases</a><span style="line-height: 1.6;"> which set out the ambition to control and eliminate 10 NTDs by 2020, global leaders gathered in Paris yesterday to announce increasing momentum to fight the diseases that put one in six people worldwide at risk of being sickened, disabled or disfigured. </span><span style="line-height: 1.6;"></span>
<br />
<span style="line-height: 1.6;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 1.6;"><span style="line-height: normal;">NTDs disproportionately affect the world's poorest and most vulnerable populations. Since the </span><a href="http://www.schoolsandhealth.org/Shared%20Documents/Downloads/London%20Declaration%20on%20Neglected%20Tropical%20Diseases.pdf" style="line-height: normal;">London Declaration</a><span style="line-height: normal;"> which put the collective weight of 13 leading pharmaceutical companies, global health organizations, private foundations, and donor and endemic country governments behind a new push to reduce the global burden of NTDs—the partnership has made strong progress in ramping up efforts to reach the World Health Organization (WHO)'s goals to control or eliminate a number of these diseases by the end of the decade.</span></span><br />
<div>
<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<img alt="Researchers in Africa assess worm prevalence in child samples through microscope " class="ms-rtePosition-1" src="http://www.schoolsandhealth.org/PublishingImages/African%20researchers%20assessing%20worm%20prevalence%20in%20child%20samples%20through%20microscope.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" title="" /></div>
<span style="line-height: 20.799999237060547px;"><br /></span>
<br />
The gathering coincided with the release of a
<a href="http://www.schoolsandhealth.org/Shared%20Documents/Combating%20NTDs%20Delivering%20on%20Promises%20and%20Driving%20Progress.pdf">new report</a> highlighting gains over the past two years, including pharmaceutical companies meeting 100 percent of requests for drugs, and endemic countries taking ownership of NTD programmes.<br />
<br />
"<strong>The tremendous progress we have seen over the past two years is proof of the power of partnerships and the generosity of companies that made commitments under the London Declaration</strong>," said Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the WHO, who spoke at the event.<br />
<br />
"<strong>Together with the governments of endemic countries, we are fast approaching the goal of controlling or eliminating many of these ancient causes of human misery. This is a pro-poor initiative that is improving the lives of more than a billion people</strong>."<br />
<br />
<h3>
<span class="ms-rteFontSize-3">Funding Announced for School-Based Deworming</span></h3>
<span class="ms-rteFontSize-3"><br /></span>
The day's big announcement saw the commitment of a $120 million fund to combat soil-transmitted helminths. These intestinal worms are among the most common infections found among children living in poverty and they severely impact on child health, nutrition and learning abilities. <br />
<br />
<span style="line-height: 1.6;">Jamie Cooper-Hohn, Chair of Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) announced that, </span><span style="line-height: 1.6;">"</span><span style="line-height: 1.6;">CIFF is now committing an additional US$50 million over the next five years to implement large-scale systematic approaches to deworming in a number of countries, with the hope that, ultimately, we can break the transmission of worms and achieve the vision of: every child, everywhere, free from worms forever."</span><br />
Other organisations also announced their commitment to rid children of worms including:<br />
<ul>
<li>
<strong>The World Bank</strong> - committing US$120 million toward the goal of NTD control and elimination in low-income countries in Africa, including funding for school-based deworming efforts. </li>
<li>
<strong>The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation</strong> - investing US$50 million to explore the feasibility of interrupting transmission and mitigating the risks of drug resistance, as well as the most effective cross-sector approaches.</li>
<li>
<strong>Dubai Cares</strong> - designing programmes that will integrate nutrition, WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) and deworming interventions in schools to increase student enrollment and learning outcomes.</li>
<li>
<strong>The Global Partnership for Education - </strong>collaborating with the World Bank to assist education sectors in developing countries to deliver donated deworming drugs to children.</li>
<li>
<strong>The World Food Programme</strong> working to ensure deworming is provided to millions of children as part of current school feeding programmes.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<h4>
<span class="ms-rteFontSize-3">Useful Links</span></h4>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Download the new report <a href="http://www.schoolsandhealth.org/Shared%20Documents/Combating%20NTDs%20Delivering%20on%20Promises%20and%20Driving%20Progress.pdf" target="_blank">Combating NTDs Delivering on Promises and Driving Progress</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2814%2960629-2/fulltext?elsca1=ETOC-LANCET&elsca2=email&elsca3=E24A35F" target="_blank">The Lancet - Neglected tropical diseases: becoming less neglected</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
Frankohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13288193478737962645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-27919921623026972582014-02-12T11:43:00.005+00:002014-02-12T11:56:13.489+00:00UK House of Lords welcome UK Coalition's expertise and call for increased global supportOn 7th February a special<a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2014/february/lords-debates-tropical-diseases/"> Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) debate</a> was held at the UK's House of Lord's to mark the second anniversary of the <a href="http://ntd-coalition.blogspot.co.uk/2012_01_01_archive.html"> London Declaration on NTDs</a>. Tabled by Baroness Helene Hayman the discussion welcomed the high levels expertise brought by UKCNTD members to the research and implementation of effective NTD programmes and called for the UK Government to encourage donor government partners to follow its lead in supporting and advocating for improved NTD control strategies.<p></p>
A key success of the 2012 London Declaration is that NTD control strategies are beginning to be prioritised by the global community, as noted by Baroness Hayman <b>"[NTDs]inclusion in the 'healthy lives' goal of the high-level panel on the post-2015 development agenda, published in May last year, was, I believe, a crucial step forward”.</b><p></p>
Baroness Hayman highlighted the work that the UK Coalition against NTDs, and like-minded alliances in NTD endemic countries were undertaking to develop sustainable and effective NTD control programmes. <b>"The academic and voluntary sector, both of which are so strong in the UK, have much to offer both in research and in resource. Such technical support [from coalitions] will be essential for plans such as the recently drawn-up Africa regional NTD strategy if it is to be successful."</b><p></p>
However, even with the wide ranging support offered by the London Declaration financing remains an issue. Baroness Hayman said, <b>"Given the relative cheapness—we know that many would argue that treating NTDs was the best bang for your buck that you could get in public health expenditure—and the cost efficiency of NTD control work, given the extensive drug donations, it has been estimated that there is still a £200 million funding gap to be bridged if we are to meet the goals of the London Declaration."</b><p></p>
She continued, <b>"I am not asking Her Majesty’s Government to meet this gap themselves; they have already been generous and committed in this area. However, I ask the Minister what progress the Government is making in championing investment in NTD work with other key international donor governments, particularly perhaps France, Germany and Australia."<p></p>
"Combating NTDs punches above its weight in broader health and wider development terms. We need to renew and reinvigorate our commitment to research, prevention and treatment programmes."<br>
<br>
</b>Baroness echoed the UK Coalition's call for increased coordination and integration of development initiatives by saying, <b>
" Integrating existing strategies such as mass drug administration with broader public health programmes such as those on water, sanitation and education, we not only enhance the effectiveness of those strategies but start to build from the bottom up the sort of universal health coverage and health systems needed to underpin development."</b><p></p>
<li>Download the <a href="http://www.cntd.org/documents/UKHouseofLordsNTDdebate.docx">Minutes from the NTD debate</a></li>Frankohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13288193478737962645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-72179967802099519872013-11-28T17:05:00.000+00:002014-02-12T08:38:57.055+00:00UK Coalition Against NTDs Launches 4th Annual NTD Report<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GRLJQQePjY4/UpeK_66pf4I/AAAAAAAAACg/8LT3aG66iK8/s1600/UK+Coalition+Against+NTD+report+image.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="4th Annual Report of the UK Coalition Against NTDs" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GRLJQQePjY4/UpeK_66pf4I/AAAAAAAAACg/8LT3aG66iK8/s1600/UK+Coalition+Against+NTD+report+image.png" title="" /></a></div>
This Friday 29 November the UK Coalition Against Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) will launch its <a href="http://www.schoolsandhealth.org/Shared%20Documents/Downloads/APPMG%202013%20Neglected%20Tropical%20Diseases%20Report.pdf" target="_blank">4th Annual Report</a> to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Malaria and NTDs (APPMG) which outlines key recommendations to see the control, eradication and elimination of NTDs.<br />
<br />
NTDs continue to place a huge burden on the poorest and most vulnerable communities in the world; they are keeping the bottom billion at the bottom. These insidious diseases hinder development by affecting the most marginalised and voiceless communities living in poverty and conflict zones, keeping individuals and communities trapped in a cycle of poverty as a result of pain, disfigurement, and disability (mental and physical).<br />
<br />
The 4th report outlines NTD elimination progress and needs within the development context, the integrated and inter-sectoral approaches necessary to help achieve this, surveillance of countries post-elimination as well as presenting current ideas in the NTD debate. The report also provides a global picture on NTDs displaying a map illustrating areas identified for control and elimination and factsheets on common NTDs.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Download the <a href="http://www.schoolsandhealth.org/Shared%20Documents/Downloads/APPMG%202013%20Neglected%20Tropical%20Diseases%20Report.pdf" target="_blank">UK Coalition against NTDs: Annual Report 2013</a>. </li>
</ul>Frankohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13288193478737962645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-67480207544548605942013-06-26T10:51:00.001+01:002013-06-26T10:51:43.911+01:00<h3 class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;">
<o:p>High Level Panel Report of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda Released</o:p></h3>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At the beginning of June, the high level panel (HLP) co-chaired by Prime Minister David Cameron passed its <a href="http://www.un.org/sg/management/beyond2015.shtml" target="_blank">recommendations</a> to the UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on the future of the global development agenda.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The report is a hugely ambitious one and has managed to target many of the most pertinent issues in development today and in the future, ranging from food security to economic development and water and sanitation to good governance. It has also crucially included a health specific goal of ensuring healthy lives.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The report has not only built on the <a href="http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/" target="_blank">millennium development goals</a> (MDGs) but has also looked beyond them up to 2030. For NTDs, this is hugely important.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Great progress has been made in the areas targeted by the MDGs such as malaria and HIV/AIDs with notable successes in both. However, inevitably, those issues that were excluded from the process did suffer in terms of attention and funding, with NTDs a notable example from the health sector.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Coalition is delighted to note that the report has called for NTDs to be included in the top-level health targets, alongside HIV and AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. By giving NTDs this platform, we are hopeful that this will help to ensure millions of people can look forward to a future free from the burden that these diseases cause.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Looking ahead, we now await the next stage of this consultative process where the UN General Assembly will make a final decision on what the development agenda will look like beyond 2015 incorporating the sustainable development agenda. The report notes that for all the health goals, the indicators should be further disaggregated and the Coalition urges that this be done with precision, incorporating tangible targets beneath the overarching health goal.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Helen Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08878769463746690075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-18538910384338944212013-05-28T16:47:00.000+01:002013-05-29T09:46:02.744+01:00<h3>
NTDs at the World Health Assembly</h3>
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Members of the <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">UK Coalition against NTDs</span> recently attended the <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/2013/wha66/en/index.html" target="_blank">World Health Assembly</a> in Geneva to support the passing of a resolution on neglected tropical diseases. The resolution urges Member States to ensure country ownership of NTD programmes and supports an integrated approache to achieve the World Health Organisation NTD roadmap targets.<br />
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Read our statement to the World Health Assembly (presented by Sightsavers):<br />
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"Thank you, Chair, for the opportunity to address the World Health Assembly on behalf of Sightsavers who currently Chair the UK Coalition against neglected tropical diseases. We are pleased to share our support for this resolution and its recognition of the importance of NTDs to global health. <br />
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We welcome Dr Chan’s support for NTDs. This leadership is essential and needed more than ever to reach our ambitious control, elimination and eradication targets by 2020. WHO recognition that increased investment in NTDs has improved health and social well-being in many countries is valued- and we commend the political will that this resolution demonstrates.<br />
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This resolution represents a transformative milestone, continuing the positive momentum generated by the London Declaration and the WHO Road Map. We applaud the recognition that NTDs represent a major global health priority and that partnership, collaboration and integration must form the bedrock of the drive to end NTDs. This partnership must include endemic country governments, NGOs, donors and pharmaceutical companies. <br />
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We look to WHO member states to lead the charge and ensure that the resolution’s implementation realises the need for cross-sectoral collaboration across planning, programme implementation monitoring and evaluation. Endemic countries must be supported to implement NTD programmes in an integrated, community-led way, targeting the poorest and most marginalised populations and delivering sustainable, lasting change. <br />
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The elimination of NTDs rests on consistent action to tackle their structural determinants. In particular, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services represent a major safeguard against many of the NTDs and should be promoted and supported as part of a cross-sectoral commitment to reaching the WHO’s 2020 targets.<br />
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We encourage endemic country Member States to bring together all relevant NTD stakeholders including health, water and education actors to drive forward cross-sectoral action. NTD implementation plans must be aligned with wider health systems based on primary health care with strong community participation and cross-sectoral collaboration if they are to be sustainable. <br />
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As partners actively engaged in the implementation, capacity building and research of NTDs, the UK Coalition will continue to support a cross-sectoral approach- championing efforts to develop the diversity and breadth of stakeholders involved in NTDs. <br />
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NTDs are diseases of poverty; afflicting those who are subject to low access to water and sanitation services, poor or limited access to health care and overcrowded living conditions. NTD control and elimination will contribute to increased education outcomes, economic productivity and it will reduce social inequalities in health within and between countries. We have the tools and the knowledge of what needs to be done to end the suffering caused by NTDs. However our ambition to end these"Helen Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08878769463746690075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-68950316126362121962013-01-17T09:50:00.002+00:002013-01-17T09:50:54.274+00:00<h3>
Collaboration is the key to beating Neglected Tropical Diseases, says UK Coalition against NTDs</h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As highlighted in </span><a href="http://www.unitingtocombatntds.org/content/promises-to-progress" jquery1358415984832="7" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">‘Promises to Progress: The First Annual Report on the London Declaration on NTDs’</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> released today, the past year has seen many successes in the fight against Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) – a group of infectious diseases which affect more than one billion of the world’s poorest people. Whilst celebrating these achievements, <b>the UK Coalition against NTDs</b> is also stressing the need for continued collaboration and integration in 2013 so progress can be made towards eliminating ten of these diseases by 2020.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Caroline Harper, Chair of the UK Coalition against NTDs, and Chief Executive of member NGO Sightsavers, says: “Many of the steps forward in the fight against NTDs over the past 12 months are the result of public and private partners working together. One of the biggest achievements is the development of the London Declaration Scorecard as a new tool to unite all NTD partners. It will drive collaborative working, outlining the responsibilities of the wide variety of partners involved. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">“This shift in the way we are working as a community gives me hope for the future. However, it is essential that this continues, for example, with partners across different sectors including health, education, water and sanitation working together. Only by pooling expertise, resources and research can NTD elimination become a reality.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The ‘Promises to Progress’ Report and the WHO’s new NTD report </span><a href="http://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/en/" jquery1358415984832="8" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">‘Sustaining the Drive to overcome the Global Impact of Neglected Tropical Diseases’</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">, clarify the path forward whilst identifying the challenges in fighting these debilitating diseases. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The UK government signified its commitment to NTDs by announcing £195m funding in January 2012 to support NTD control and elimination, protecting more than 140 million people. This includes support to make Guinea Worm the second human disease ever to be eradicated by 2015 and the provision of £10.6m to complete the global mapping of blinding NTD trachoma. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">“Thanks to support from DFID and other donors, significant progress has been made on NTD elimination and eradication agendas,” says Caroline Harper. “Despite these success stories the NTD community still faces an annual funding gap of almost US$300 million which is preventing key elements of elimination programmes from being brought to scale. We as a coalition are keen to see further donor commitments to ensure a positive future for the millions of people living at risk of these terrible diseases.” </span><br />
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Helen Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08878769463746690075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-87485704347085594962013-01-16T14:45:00.000+00:002013-01-16T14:45:12.912+00:00<br />
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First Annual Report on the London Declaration on NTDs launched<br /> </h3>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Today marks the launch of a new report, <a href="http://www.unitingtocombatntds.org/content/promises-to-progress" target="_blank">From Promises to Progress</a>. This report reflects on the 12 months since the London Declaration meeting last January and highlights successes in 2012 as well as goals and challenges for 2013. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Alongside this report, the WHO has also launched its second NTD report, <a href="http://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/en/" target="_blank">Sustaining the Drive to Overcome the Global Impact of Neglected Tropical Diseases</a>, which discusses the path to achieving 2020 goals, identifies challenges and proposes plans to address each disease. Together, these reports offer a united way forward for the NTD community. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The reports, press release and full version of the NTD scorecard are now available <a href="http://www.unitingtocombatntds.org/content/promises-to-progress" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Read the UK Coalition reponse to the reports <a href="http://www.sightsavers.org/about_us/media_centre/press_releases/19431.html" target="_blank">here</a></span>Helen Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08878769463746690075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-77490270131072167682012-11-07T15:00:00.000+00:002012-11-07T15:00:10.556+00:00APPG report launched<h2>
The NTD Report for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases was launched on 6th November. </h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The report was launched by the Lords' Speaker Baroness D'Souza, Baroness Northover, Government Spokesman in the House of Lords on International Development and Government Whip and Dr Lorenzo Savioli, Director, Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, World Health Organization. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The report charts the progress of NTDs through 2012 reflecting on highlights such as the <a href="http://www.dfid.gov.uk/News/Latest-news/2012/Britain-to-protect-more-than-140-million-in-global-effort-to-rid-the-world-of-neglected-tropical-diseases/" target="_blank">UK Government’s commitment</a> to provide funding of £240 million to NTDs over 4 years and the <a href="http://www.unitingtocombatntds.org/endorsements" target="_blank">London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases</a> which united pharmaceutical companies, donors, endemic countries and non-government organisations in their fight against NTDs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span>The report also serves as the UK NTD </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Coalition's 2012 Annual report. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The full report is available to download <a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=1EJEhf3p4D2M108t6GkK-1jZsOPFRlGpdgY_ErUdxH3D1_fL_Pp8nzQdVE_bt" target="_blank">here</a></span>Helen Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08878769463746690075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-61197972546962400832012-10-05T20:12:00.000+01:002012-10-05T20:12:27.763+01:00<h2>
<o:p><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">A Future Free of Lymphatic Filariasis: Reaching the vision by scaling-up, scaling down and reaching out</span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></o:p></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The seventh meeting of the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis will take place in 18th-19th November in Washington. For more information go to </span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.filariasis.org/bi_annual_meeting.html"><span style="color: blue; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">filariasis.org</span></a></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Overarching themes</span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Achieving 2020 objectives: What do we need to do to eliminate lymphatic filariasis by 2020 in all endemic countries?</span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lining up the linkages: Who are our partners and how do we link with them?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">DAY 1: Sunday, 18th November</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">OPENING SESSION</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">1400-1420</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Welcome by the Chair of the GAELF </span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dr Patrick Lammie</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Opening speech</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">TBA</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 5;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 69.2pt;" valign="top" width="92"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">1420-1500</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 9cm;" valign="top" width="340"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ARE WE ON TRACK FOR 2020? MODERATOR: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dr. Pat Lammie</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 137.75pt;" valign="top" width="184"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 6;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 69.2pt;" valign="top" width="92"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">1420-1440</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 9cm;" valign="top" width="340"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">LF Strategic Plan</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 137.75pt;" valign="top" width="184"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dr. Lorenzo Savioli</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 7;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 69.2pt;" valign="top" width="92"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">1440-1500</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 9cm;" valign="top" width="340"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Regional Progress</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 137.75pt;" valign="top" width="184"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Ricardo Thompson</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 8;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 69.2pt;" valign="top" width="92"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">1500-1700 </span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 9cm;" valign="top" width="340"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">HIGHLIGHTING SUCCESS</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 137.75pt;" valign="top" width="184"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 9;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 69.2pt;" valign="top" width="92"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">1500-1545 </span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 9cm;" valign="top" width="340"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Panel session: Highlighting success in scaling up</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">MODERATOR: Mr Andy Wright</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Haiti </span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Malawi</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">India</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Liberia</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Discussion</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 137.75pt;" valign="top" width="184"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dr. Abdel Direny</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dr. Square Mkwanda</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dr. Pradeep Srivastava</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Mr Karsor Kollie</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 10;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 69.2pt;" valign="top" width="92"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">1545-1615</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 9cm;" valign="top" width="340"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Tea Break</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 137.75pt;" valign="top" width="184"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 11;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 69.2pt;" valign="top" width="92"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1615-1700<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 9cm;" valign="top" width="340"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Panel session: Highlighting success in scaling down MODERATOR: Dr. Adrian Hopkins<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Togo<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ghana<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Viet Nam<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Philippines<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Discussion<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 137.75pt;" valign="top" width="184"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dr. Monique Dorkenoo<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dr. Nana Kwadwo-Biritwum<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dr. Do Trung Dung<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dr. Leda Hernandez<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 12;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 69.2pt;" valign="top" width="92"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">1700-1800</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 9cm;" valign="top" width="340"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Representative Contact Group Business Session </span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 137.75pt;" valign="top" width="184"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dr. Maged el-Setouhy</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 13;"><td colspan="3" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 462.1pt;" valign="top" width="616"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">DAY 2 : Monday, 19th November</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 14;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 69.2pt;" valign="top" width="92"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">0900-1030</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 9cm;" valign="top" width="340"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">MEETING PROGRAMME CHALLENGES</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 137.75pt;" valign="top" width="184"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 15;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 69.2pt;" valign="top" width="92"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 9cm;" valign="top" width="340"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Panel session: Reaching the Unreached</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">MODERATOR: Professor Moses Bockarie</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Sierra Leone</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">DRC </span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Liberia</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Papua New Guinea</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Discussion</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 137.75pt;" valign="top" width="184"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dr. Mustapha Sonnie</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dr Benoit Kebela</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Mr Karsor Kollie</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dr. Leo Makita</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 16;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 69.2pt;" valign="top" width="92"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 9cm;" valign="top" width="340"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Panel session: How can we accelerate the process?</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">MODERATOR: Dr. Frank Richards</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Indonesia</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Nigeria</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Tanzania</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Discussion</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 137.75pt;" valign="top" width="184"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dr. Rita Kusriastuti</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dr. Mansur Kabir</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dr. Upendo Mwingira</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 17;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 69.2pt;" valign="top" width="92"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">1030-1100</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 9cm;" valign="top" width="340"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Tea</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 137.75pt;" valign="top" width="184"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 18;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 69.2pt;" valign="top" width="92"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">1100-1200</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 9cm;" valign="top" width="340"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Panel Session: Strategies for Achieving Disability Prevention and Morbidity Management</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">MODERATOR: Ms. Ann Varghese</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Developing a national programme for lymphedema management</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Community-based support for lymphedema patients</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">New therapeutic options for lymphedema </span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The African Morbidity Project</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Discussion</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 137.75pt;" valign="top" width="184"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dr. Monique Dorkenoo</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Mr. Jonathan Rout</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dr. Achim Hoerauf</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dr.Serigne Gueye</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 19;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 69.2pt;" valign="top" width="92"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">1200-1300</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 9cm;" valign="top" width="340"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Lunch</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 137.75pt;" valign="top" width="184"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 20;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 69.2pt;" valign="top" width="92"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">1300-1430</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 9cm;" valign="top" width="340"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">LINKING THE PROGRAMMES</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">MODERATOR: Dr. Adiele Onyeze</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">New partnerships with onchocerciasis programme</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Extending the benefits</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Two programmes: A shared goal - LF and trachoma</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">A partnership with the malaria progammes</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Discussion</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 137.75pt;" valign="top" width="184"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dr. Adrian Hopkins</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dr. David Addiss</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dr. Teshome Gebre</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dr. Frank Richards</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 21;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 69.2pt;" valign="top" width="92"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">1430-1500</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">TEA</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 22;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 69.2pt;" valign="top" width="92"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">1500-1600</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">GAELF: the next chapter</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Moderator: Dr. Eric Ottesen</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Strategic partnerships</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The future of GAELF in the post-London Declaration environment</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Discussion</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dr. Neeraj Mistry</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Professor David Molyneux</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 23;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 69.2pt;" valign="top" width="92"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">1600-1700</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Conclusions and Recommendations</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dr. Patrick Lammie</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 24;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 69.2pt;" valign="top" width="92"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">1700</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Announcement and introduction of new Executive Group</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 25; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 69.2pt;" valign="top" width="92"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">1730</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Closing of meeting</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #ece9d8; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 137.75pt;" valign="top" width="184"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></td></tr>
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</span>Helen Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08878769463746690075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-39268352733422749482012-09-17T17:00:00.000+01:002012-09-17T17:00:09.153+01:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: large;">WaterAid lead WASH sessions at NTD NGDO Network meeting</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Over the past year, WaterAid has increasingly engaged in initiatives for the control and prevention of NTDs. Among other activities, WaterAid has joined the UKCNTD, attended the meeting of the Global Alliance for Elimination of Trachoma by 2020 in Washington DC, and is part of a consortium led by Sightsavers and ITI for trachoma mapping.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">In early September, WaterAid Australia joined the meeting of the <a href="http://www.ntd-ngdonetwork.org/news.php" target="_blank">NTD NGDO</a> Network in Sydney , during which it lead a plenary session on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and NTDs. The session included presentations on the links between WASH and NTDs, an overview of the role of WASH in NTD control strategies, and examples of co-implementation of WASH and NTD programmes, as well as key supply and demand approaches for sanitation and hygiene. The session provided an opportunity to discuss the necessary steps to deepen and scale up collaboration between WASH and NTD actors for successful and sustainable elimination of WASH-related NTDs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Helen Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08878769463746690075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112183743280072898.post-37363946812283455132012-09-16T12:28:00.000+01:002012-09-16T12:28:00.532+01:00<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">CALENDAR UPDATE</span></b><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Meetings<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Disease specific NTD meetings (onchocerciasis/LF; trachoma; schistosomiasis/STH)<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Where:<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span></span></b><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">World Bank, Washington DC<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">When:</span></b><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Friday, 16<sup>th</sup> November<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Reception:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></b><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Evening, Friday, 16<sup>th</sup> November<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">NTDS 2020 – Building Momentum following the London Declaration<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Where: <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></b><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">World Bank, Washington DC<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">When:<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span></span></b><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Saturday, 17<sup>th</sup> November and morning of Sunday, 18<sup>th</sup> November<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">7<sup>th</sup> meeting of the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Where: <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></b><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">World Bank, Washington DC<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">When:<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span></span></b><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Afternoon, Sunday, 18<sup>th</sup> November and Monday, 19<sup>th</sup> November<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Additional details including registration regarding all the above will be posted as soon as available.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Helen Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08878769463746690075noreply@blogger.com