Addressing global health challenges
1. Control and elimination of diseases of poverty
We support work that crosses the disciplines of human, animal and environmental health and promote the importance of applying an intersectional gender lens to infectious disease research.
Objective
To support research on strategies to control and sustain elimination of diseases of poverty.
Disease focus
Neglected tropical diseases, malaria, tuberculosis.
Key activities
- Facilitating implementation and delivery of new treatments, innovative strategies and other interventions to address diseases of poverty through implementation research.
- Supporting efforts to prevent and control diseases of poverty through a multisectoral, One Health approach.
- Supporting researchers, health professionals and other stakeholders to expand their capacity to conduct and manage implementation research to address infectious diseases of poverty.
- Supporting researchers to generate new knowledge and evidence on the intersection of sex and gender with other social stratifiers that affect access to health services and health outcomes.
2024 updates
Expanding treatment to children with schistosomiasis in the United Republic of Tanzania
- TDR and the UNDP-led Access and Delivery Partnership (ADP) are supporting a baseline survey for estimating the disease burden in children aged under 5 years and research on community engagement and integrated models for delivering paediatric praziquantel, a new formulation that will expand access to this treatment to preschool-aged children.
A mother at the local health centre in Sengerema delivers her child’s urine and stool sample to be tested for schistosomiasis.
Credit: UNDP/Kumi Media
Exploring integration of services for female genital schistosomiasis (FGS) with HIV care
- TDR has supported a qualitative study in Ghana which found that implementation barriers such as stigma, knowledge gap, unavailability of needed logistics at health facilities, shortage of FGS and HIV drugs and issues of accessibility of drugs must be addressed to facilitate integration of services for both diseases.
Nine countries have documented the impact of the multisectoral approach for the prevention and control of vector-borne diseases
- For example, the multisectoral approach contributed to a 64% reduction in the number of dengue cases in Estrutural City in Brazil between 2022 and 2023. (See Spotlight story below.)
Supporting access to TB diagnostics and treatment
- A research package for evaluating the effectiveness, feasibility and impact of using the WHO-recommended treatment decision algorithm for childhood TB (TDA4Child) was developed and used by four additional countries (Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria and Uganda).
- TDR-supported research conducted in Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe on TB disability have directly contributed to WHO guidance on TB-associated disability.
- A new research toolkit for evaluating the impact of social protection programmes among TB patients and their households has been developed.
Reviewing the TDA4Child study material in Saint Pierre research site in Kinshasa.
Credit: TDR/E. Papot
Ghana approves moxidectin for the treatment of river blindness
Moxidectin was developed through two decades of collaboration between TDR, researchers in disease endemic and other countries, WHO country offices and the not-for-profit biopharmaceutical company Medicines Development for Global Health (MDGH). In December 2024, the Ghana Food and Drugs Authority approved MDGH’s marketing authorization application for moxidectin for the treatment of river blindness in adults and children aged 4 years and older. This paves the way for a TDR-supported pilot implementation programme. (See Spotlight story below.)
Generating evidence on infectious diseases of poverty, gender and intersectionality in LMICs
- Researchers in Nepal have assessed gender and equity considerations in health-related national policies and the health management information system of the national tuberculosis programme for more inclusive health systems.
- Intersectional gender analysis conducted in four health facilities in central Uganda has helped identify challenges and bottlenecks in TB care, especially among the most at-risk groups.
Testing the sterile insect technique (SIT) to control dengue transmission in the Pacific Region
- French Polynesia started preparing for SIT field testing in 2023 and will release sterile male mosquitoes weekly throughout 2025 in two sites (Tahiti and Tetiaroa islands). The Cook Islands is also preparing to test SIT, and the release of sterile males will start by mid-2025 on Aitutaki island.
Supporting the introduction of malaria vaccines in 14 countries in West and Central Africa
- An implementation research project has been initiated, using a new TDR research package for conducting coverage surveys, understanding the barriers and drivers influencing malaria vaccine uptake and measuring vaccine effectiveness.
Ten Impact Grants for Regional Priorities have been awarded following a call for applications jointly issued by TDR and the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia to support implementation research and innovations for accelerating elimination of infectious diseases of poverty under the Regional Flagship Priorities in South-East Asia.
Relevant training activities
- TDR’s postgraduate training scheme, in collaboration with eight universities in LMICs, focuses on building capacity on implementation research on major global health challenges, including control and elimination of diseases of poverty. This includes in-depth master’s thesis projects focused on addressing NTDs, malaria, TB, HIV, etc.
- TDR-supported regional training centres (RTCs) trained individuals on on implementation research to control and eliminate infectious diseases of poverty.
RTCs trained
more than
7000
individuals online
345
individuals in-person
- Responding to requests from participants in the massive open online course (MOOC) on implementation research, new training modules have been developed featuring case studies addressing diseases such as Chagas disease and trachoma.
- A MOOC on incorporating an intersectional gender perspective in implementation research was rolled out as part of the overall implementation research MOOC.
- A MOOC has been developed to support implementation of the multisectoral approach to prevent and control vector-borne diseases.
- To strengthen local capacities in operational research to eradicate NTDs in Burkina Faso, Guinea and Senegal, TDR supported a research training workshop organized by the African Center of Excellence for the Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases.
Spotlight
Ghana approves moxidectin: a new milestone in the fight against river blindness
TDR’s long involvement in the development of drugs for neglected diseases took another positive step forward as Medicines Development for Global Health (MDGH) announced on 5 December 2024 that the Ghana Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) approved its marketing authorization application for moxidectin for the treatment of river blindness (onchocerciasis) in adults and children aged 4 years and older. This paves the way for a TDR-supported pilot implementation programme.
Moxidectin bottle and pill.
Courtesy of Medicines Development for Global Health
Our collaborative approach
This work is an example of TDR’s engagement and collaboration with a wide range of partners to support implementation of new products and innovations.
Spotlight
Controlling dengue among vulnerable populations in Brazil
When Dr Vanessa Cruvinel started her career in public health, she could never have dreamt that she’d be working in Latin America’s largest open waste site, trying to improve the health of one of the most vulnerable populations in Brazil.
Our catalytic role
In 2020, TDR published a conceptual framework covering the essential elements of successful multisectoral collaborations to address vector-borne diseases. TDR has been supporting research teams in Africa and Latin America that have been implementing the multisectoral approach.
