Institutions of 6 countries to receive grants from PAHO to eliminate communicable diseases

Caribbean: Institutions from 6 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean will receive grants for health research projects dealing with trachoma, the elimination of mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT) of hepatitis B virus and Chagas, schistosomiasis, soil-borne helminthiasis (STH) and tuberculosis.

These grants are part of a new project between the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the UNICEF / UNDP / World Bank / WHO Special Program for Tropical Disease Research and Training (TDR), "operational research to support the elimination of transmissible diseases in the Latin American and Caribbean region.”

The aim of the grants is to facilitate and strengthen elimination-oriented operational research in selected communicable diseases through an integrated approach, with an emphasis on life course and primary health care (PHC) strategies. Grants were awarded to 7 research institutes from 6 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, St. Kitts and Nevis and Peru. Grants receive up to $30,000, which can be used to pay for research time, data collection, analysis and other related research activities.

Selected grants will conduct operational research on the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and Chagas; latent tuberculosis infection and diagnosis; schistosomiasis; tragoma; in Chagas. '' One of the key strategies to promote disease eradication in the region is through effective and integrated operational research that seeks to achieve economies of scale by promoting the integration of quality assured health services and laboratory networks, as well as by promoting policies which benefits community mobilization and health promotion efforts,” said Dr Marcos Espinal, Director of the Department of Communicable Diseases and Environmental Assessors for Health.

Some of the projects selected to receive grants include an initiative by the Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo in Brazil, to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of video telemonitoring (VDOT) systems to address compliance with latent tuberculosis treatment among migrants versus self-administrative treatment. (DOT) to improve policy on tuberculosis and migrant health in a COVID-19 context.

A project in Argentina seeks to evaluate the efficacy of a new and more sensitive diagnostic procedure (LAMP) compared to standardized molecular diagnostics (PCR) for the avoidable mother-to-child transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi, the cause of congenital Chagas, a disease that can be fully treated if diagnosed early. Currently, about 50% of infections in newborns are not detected due to the low sensitivity of the diagnostic technique and a waiting time of ten months for final diagnosis.

A further project to receive funding includes a study on mixed methods to measure factors related to the lack of systematic facial washing among indigenous populations aged 1 to 9 years in trachoma endemic areas. The aim is to improve the technical definition of facial cleansing and interventions around facial hygiene, following clear evidence that washing interventions are one of the most effective components to address trachoma.

Following the selection of award recipients, teams will now develop a protocol to conduct operational research aimed at eliminating diseases. This protocol will be developed in collaboration with PAHO and TDR and will be evaluated at national and regional level by ethics committee. Beneficiaries will then start collecting data. Technical assistance will be provided during the activities to deliver valid and relevant research results and to integrate the results into the health program, policy and / or system. Each recipient is expected to publish a peer-reviewed article as well as a policy brief to demonstrate improved effective interventions as part of the disease elimination strategy.