Six Impact Grants for Regional Priorities have been awarded to researchers in Argentina, Brazil, Haiti, Mexico and Peru as part of a joint initiative between TDR and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). The grants are for operational research to support the elimination of communicable diseases in the Latin American and Caribbean region, with research efforts focusing on tuberculosis (TB) and other opportunistic infections in advanced HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and Human T cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV-1).
It is estimated that around 2.5 million people live with HIV in Latin America and the Caribbean and that 291,000 people in the region contracted TB in 2020; 10% of these individuals were living with HIV. Meanwhile, according to the latest WHO estimates, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) affect approximately 38 million people between the ages of 15 and 49 in the region. It is also estimated that between 5 and 10 million people are infected with HTLV-1 (a virus that can cause a type of cancer called adult T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma).
Operational research helps identify ways in which health systems can best address public health issues such as these and deliver better, more equitable health care. “In order to have greatest impact, these grants focus on selected communicable diseases that are potential candidates for elimination as a public health problem”, said Dr Garry Aslanyan, Manager of Partnerships and Governance at TDR.
Each of the recipient projects is listed in the table below.
(Each will receive a grant of around 30,000 US dollars).For more information, please contact Dr Garry Aslanyan at TDR or Dr Freddy Perez at PAHO.
