Module Overview
Director of the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. John Nkengasong, brings to you top-level insights and remarkable achievements that have been accomplished in HIV medicine on the African continent. The substantial scale-up of HIV testing services has contributed to tremendous progress in the fight against HIV. However, despite this, approx. 20% of people with HIV remain unaware of their status. To reduce this gap in diagnosis, increases in the efficiency and effectiveness of services are needed.
In this eLearning module, Dr. Nkengasong will discuss the pivotal role of HIV diagnostics, review developments that have occurred in the area of diagnostics, and outline the remaining barriers and opportunities.
For more information visit: https://academicmedicaleducation.com/
Read moreOn 10 April 2020, the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) launched a 5 million EUR call for proposals. The call aims to establish an African cohort of epidemiologists by supporting institutions in sub-Saharan Africa and Europe that develop such cadres through Master’s degree training in epidemiology and biostatistics.
Africa faces many challenges with its public health response to outbreaks - epidemiological data is often unavailable or severely limited; there is a shortage of skilled personnel and systems to collect and analyze available data, and efficiently translate this to inform policy and practice. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the severe shortages of the health research workforce, infrastructure and capacity for conducting research, as well as the capacity to develop drugs, vaccines, diagnostic tests and laboratory supplies in the African region.
The 10 successful projects (out of 45 applicants) will result in the training of a cohort of 150 epidemiologists recruited from across sub-Saharan Africa.
A network of 51 organisations are involved in the 10 successful projects - 42 organisations in West, East, Central and Southern regions of sub-Saharan Africa, 9 organisations in Europe. These 51 organisations include 24 leading universities in Europe and Africa, working in partnership with NPHIs, Ministries of Health, as well as other research and not for profit organisations.
EDCTP activated its Emergency Funding Mechanism in April 2020 to support collaborative clinical research studies in sub-Saharan Africa to manage and/or prevent the spread of the current COVID-19 outbreak. Twenty-six projects have been supported in 22 countries across sub-Saharan Africa. One year on from the declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic, many research questions have been answered, many others are still under investigation and new questions are emerging.
Speakers & Participants
Speakers will primarily include representatives of the EDCTP-funded COVID-19 Emergency Projects. Selected speakers will share preliminary findings (where available) and/or lessons learnt so far. The meeting will be open to researchers and all other interested stakeholders.
Agenda
The programme includes presentations and panel discussions on the following topics:
- Surveillance and response
- Focus on special populations (pediatric, pregnant women)
- COVID-19 and other major infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa (HIV, TB, Malaria)
- New emerging research questions and knowledge gaps specific to sub-Saharan Africa
When and How to join?
The meeting will be held in 2 separate afternoons via Zoom on 18-19 March 2021, each day from 1 to 5PM Central European Time (CET). Registration is required (one link for both days).
Register in advance for this webinar: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_cHhn2t0SQvuNJYemkJesBg
How can we tackle the global threat of COVID-19 without neglecting the fight against malaria? This Keystone e-Symposium will shed light on how to effectively combat the dual challenges of a malaria-endemic world, along-side new complications posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. We must tackle these global health challenges together, as a united community, so as not to lose ground against either of these formidable diseases.
Presenters will share recent progress and innovation in malaria research, from targeted public health interventions to new applications of decision-making science in global health. The program will also stimulate debate on how the malaria community is navigating shifting boundaries in open access publishing, data sharing, and competing priorities for research funding.
Looking to future challenges and future generations of malaria research, participants will discuss the dynamic nature of a career in the malaria field with experts from diverse career paths, from leading research in endemic countries, to forging start-up enterprises, to guiding global level policy making. In addition, we will address how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted those in early stages of their careers, and strategies to overcome these new hurdles to achieve your career goals.
For more information visit https://virtual.keystonesymposia.org/ks/live/807/page/8052
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