SANTD Symposium 2023 | Mobalizing Resources against NTDs

26 Apr 2023
Novartis Campus Basel, Switzerland

The Swiss Alliance against Neglected Tropical Diseases SANTD Symposium:

Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) affect 1.5 billion people worldwide. Populations living in poverty, without adequate sanitation and in close contact with infectious vectors, and women and girls are disproportionately at risk and affected. The right to health is not a luxury — it is a human right. Yet, a third of the people affected by NTDs lack access to treatment, because the medicines that exist do not reach them, or because there is simply no effective medicine for the particular disease.

The Kigali Summit (June 2022) represented an important moment in the fight against NTDs and Malaria. Against the backdrop of disruptions of essential services and supply chains during the Covid-19 pandemic and plateauing of funding, rapidly increasing population, and widespread biological challenges such as insecticide and drug resistance, the progress to eliminate these diseases has stalled and even reversed in some countries.

During the symposium SANTD want to discuss resource mobilization, integrated approaches, the importance of continued innovation and ensuring access to new tools and interventions, efficient and data driven use of existing resources, and the need for sustained financing.

Program

14:00 Welcome Coffee Networking, setup presentations, speakers etc.

Part 1

  • 14:15 Keynote: Summary and Outlook after the Kigali Summit Where does Switzerland stand in the fight against NTDs and malaria and what is Switzerland’s role in the future.

Ibrahima Socé Fall - Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, Division of Universal Health Coverage/Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases (WHO)

  • 14:30 Fostering Inclusive and Sustainable Solutions on the Ground: Health System Strengthening, Product Development Partnerships Investments and commitments of Swiss stakeholders – best practices.

Short film about the distribution of azithromycin against Yaws (Fairmed)

Eustache Ndokabilya Dunia, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Program Office Bukavu, DRC (SDC)

Helen Prytherch, Head of Unit at the Swiss Centre for International Health (Swiss TPH) + Joelle Tanguy, Director of External Affairs (DNDi)

Gesa Pellier, Head Global Health Programs (Novartis)

  • 15:00 Q&A / discussion

Part 2

  • 15:20 Multilateral Cooperation – Panel Opening

NTDs and malaria in the context of the upcoming Swiss international cooperation strategy

Erika Placella, Head Global Program Health, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)

  • 15:30 Panel Discussion

Ibrahima Socé Fall,Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, Division of Universal Health Coverage/ Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases (WHO)

Erika Placella, Head Global Program Health, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)

Jutta Reinhard-Rupp, Global Health Institute (Merck)

Gabriel Alcoba, Head of clinic at the Department of Tropical and Humanitarian Medicine at University Hospitals Geneva (HUG)

Moderation - Martin Leschhorn, President Medicus Mundi International / Director Medicus Mundi Schweiz

Panel topics / questions: funding mechanisms / stream and how to integrate NTDs, malaria, developing a sustainable funding model to complement donations by pharmaceutical companies etc …

  • 16:00 Outlook

Lutz Hegemann, President, Global Health & Sustainability (Novartis)

Wrap up and invitation to Networking Apéro Closing: René Staeheli, Chair Swiss Alliance against NTDs

  • 16:10 Networking Apéro
  • 17:30 End