Histórico Proyectos Enfermedades Tropicales Desatendidas

Chagas disease in Bolivia

In collaboration with Asociación Nor Sud, the project will consolidate a model for the prevention and control of Chagas disease in the area. This is a model that we have been working on for the past two years, in which the communities actively participate in the fight against Chagas disease. Preventive work is carried out both in schools and among adults, housing is improved, and the implementation of vector information points is promoted.

In addition, a mobile application will be implemented for epidemiological monitoring by the district's Chagas programme. Finally, as is the norm in many projects, access to water and sanitation in the communities will be improved to reduce the transmission of diarrhoeal and other preventable diseases.

Leishmaniasis in El Salvador

The project will run in collaboration with Farmamundi (Farmaceuticos del Mundo) and their local partners with whom they have been working for over 20 years, the Asociación Salvadoreña de promoción de la Salud (ASPS).

The action strategy will be implemented based on three components: the first will improve the institutional capacity in therapeutic approaches to leishmaniasis; the second will promote actions between the Ministry of Health and the local communities to approach prevention and epidemiology; and the last component involves developing knowledge, mindsets, and practices among the population in identifying and preventing the disease.

The project seeks to work at a community level to bolster and improve prevention and at an institutional level on identification, diagnostics, and treatment to control the two forms of leishmaniasis: cutaneous and visceral.

Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Bolivia

This project, in collaboration with the Instituto de Salud Carlos III and Funderma as a local partner, will run an operational study to make headway in cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis diagnosis in two endemic regions of Bolivia.

The study will involve conducting rapid diagnosis tests based on molecular biology techniques and developing a proposal for implementing those test within the framework of national health policy.

Access to a precise diagnosis will improve effective treatment, benefiting both patients and the entire community while also reducing transmission and the risk of sequels.

Chagas in Bolivia

In collaboration with the Nor Sud Foundation with whom we have already worked with great results in the fight against Chagas, the goal of the project is to develop a holistic approach to tackling Chagas in the Gran Chaco region of Bolivia.

We will run training and education sessions at the health centers and education for health activities in the communities.. What's more, we will run activities at schools to promote knowledge transfer from children to adults, as well as vigilance and vector control in communities at Vector Information Points.

All the activities planned to tackle the disease involve bolstering public systems and a commitment to working with communities either through outreach, the Vector Information Points, health volunteers, or schools.

Much like vector controls, special attention will be paid to epidemiological monitoring to keep track of what is happening with the disease in the area to make evidence-based decisions.

Leprosy and Other Skin Conditions in DR Congo

In collaboration with The Leprosy Mission (TLM), the goal of the project is to boost the skills of the local staff and volunteers in identifying leprosy and other skin related NTDs. The action will run using integrated case management, via SkinApp software to improve diagnosis and early detection within the community.

What's more, by digitalizing data from the health centers, they can run contact tracing for cases of leprosy and, once tested, they will be given a prophylactic kit to stop it from spreading. By halting horizontal transmission through prophylactic treatment, we can increase the chance of bringing the rates down. Reliable prevalence data will be available for places where there is currently a lack of epidemiological information.

Echinococcosis in Peru

In collaboration with Prodein, the project works with a 360º vision in the fight against echinococcosis in a region of Peru where there are very high rates of the disease.

Actions will run using a One Health approach to halt transmission through support from veterinarian, community prevention, and health education at schools. Diagnosis and treatment will be available for people, as well as prophylactics for intermediate hosts (dogs and sheep) to cut the parasite’s life cycle and, as such, end the disease.