The Global Health Institute engages with the Global Health Community

The year 2017 closed with presentations at events in Europe and in the US. The GHI lead of the Pediatric Praziquantel (PZQ) Formulation program was invited to present about its progress at the Swiss TPH Winter Symposium in December. The Basel Symposium, organized by the Pediatric PZQ Consortium partner Swiss TPH, welcomed over 160 international experts and scientists who critically reviewed innovations in diagnostics and drugs, and discussed control strategies to potentially stop transmission of parasitic worm infections.

As in previous years, the 66^th ASTMH Annual Meeting held in Baltimore in November represented a great opportunity to meet with tropical medicine and global health professionals from different sectors.

GHI members also played a role at the closed COR-NTD Annual Meeting. Coordinated by the Neglected Tropical Diseases Support Center, which is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the UK Department for International Development, COR-NTD meets formally each year with participation from NTD experts, including researchers, implementers, donors and the World Health Organization, to review the synergies and provide guidance within the operational research arena for NTDs.

Baltimore was also the location for a Global Schistosomiasis Alliance meeting where scientific experts continued their exchange in the context of the schistosomiasis elimination agenda. Through presentation, the Institute contributed to the discussion around schistosomiasis morbidity and one of the consequences was presented in more detail which is Female Genital Schistosomiasis.

In October, the Institute was represented through presentation and poster at the 10^th ECTMIH held in Antwerp (Belgium): Data from the ‘Evaluation of the pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic relationship of praziquantel in the Schistosoma mansoni mouse model’ were presented; for more information, please consult the recent publication in PLOS NTDs.

Still in October, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, leaders shared their expertise to address the most pressing issues on world health at the 9^th World Health Summit in Berlin.
Being an annual meeting with participation of researchers, physicians, government officials, industry representatives, NGOs and healthcare systems, the WHS represented a great opportunity for contributing to the discussion by presenting innovative ways and operating models to fight NTDs as well as case studies promoting R&D and manufacturing capacities in developing countries.

To sum up, in 2017, the Global Health Institute has caught the attention of the global health community at various occasions. By addressing unmet medical needs of vulnerable populations, the Institute plays an important role within the control and elimination agenda for infectious diseases.