Tuesday 21 November

08:30

Tivoli Vredenburg Grote Zaal

Track 1

Climate justice

Federation of European Tropical Medicine and International Health, the Dutch Society for Tropical Medicine and International Health, Knowledge Centre Global Health, Be-cause Health

Chair: Nori Spauwen, philosopher, coach, former diplomat, Founder of Embassy of Change, Diplomacy, activism and human rights

Speakers: Joyeeta Gupta, Professor of environment and development in the global south at the University of Amsterdam and IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, research leader Amsterdam Global Change Institute; Mohammed Nadiruzzaman, Assistant Professor Maastricht University, Department of Health, Ethics and Society; Adrián Salas Xopan, indigenous Maya elder and Deputy Director of Muuchxiimbal Mayan Ceremonial Center; Ruben Terlou, Dutch Documentary filmmaker/photographer, medical doctor; Hilda Flavia Nakabuye, Ugandan climate and environmental rights activist, founder of Uganda's Fridays for Future movement

The first session of this planetary health congress creatively combines scientific insights, storytelling, art and rituals to unravel connections between climate crisis, global environmental challenges, and present avenues to achieve social justice and health equity. 

For this we will make use of powerful images from Ruben Terlou, a Dutch documentary filmmaker and photographer along with scientific evidence, and case studies and testimonies from Bangladesh, Mexico, and Uganda.

Professor Gupta will talk about her research on climate change and fossil fuels, and solving issues arising from climate change through good governance; Assistant Professor Mohammed Nadiruzzaman will present a case study on the intersection of climate change, salinity, and preeclampsia in Bangladesh; Testimonies from Mexico (Yucatan) where the construction of a 1,500-kilometre railway jeopardizes the rights of indigenous peoples and other communities to land and natural resources; and from Uganda where a young woman was pushed to action by the effects of climate change within her own community.

10:30

Tivoli Vredenburg Grote Zaal

Track 1

Climate, environment and health: impact on humanitarian contexts and crisis response

Médecins Sans Frontières Operational Centres in Amsterdam, Geneva and Brussels

Chair: Ama van Dantzig, co-founder Dr. Monk

Speakers: Dr Amrish Baidjoe: LuxOR (Operational Research and Epidemiology Support Unit, MSF Operational Centre Brussels), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (Infectious Disease Epidemiology); Dr. Lachlan McIver: Tropical Diseases & Planetary Health MSF Operational Centre Geneva, James Cook University, Australia

Join Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medical coordinators to learn more about the impact of weather events, climate change and environmental degradation on health and human wellbeing in humanitarian contexts.

This session will testify to what is already happening as well as making a call for collaboration between organizations to help those at highest risk for the impact of weather events.

10:30 

Tivoli Vredenburg Hertz

Track 2

Climate, animals and humans: rethinking One Health

Società Italiana di Medicina Tropicale e Salute Globale (SIMET), German Society for Tropical Medicine, Travel Medicine and Global Health (DTG), Swiss Society of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology (SSTMP)

Co-chairs: Dr Marco Albonico, SIMET Board, Infectious Disease Specialist, Italy; Dr Carsten Köhler, president DTG, Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen, Germany, Dr Jurgen May, Department Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Germany

Speakers: Dr Charlotte Adamczick, University Children's Hospital, Zürich, Switzerland; Dr Daniele De Meneghi, Dept. Veterinary Sciences- CISAO_UniTo, University of Torino, Italy; Dr Adriano Casulli, WHO Collaborating Centre for the Epidemiology, Detection and Control of Cystic and Alveolar Echinococcosis; Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Italy; Dr Denise Dekker, BNITM Research Group “One Health Bacteriology”, Germany; Dr Emanuele Nicastri, Istituto Nazionale Malattie Infettive Lazzaro Spallanzani;

In this session we will explore the environment alterations caused by man, which are reflected in climatic changes that may affect global health, contributing to outbreaks of re-emerging diseases in Europe and globally, and influencing transmission of endemic infections. 

Our objectives are:

• to link climate change to an increase in vector-borne diseases, as well as water and food borne diseases with impact on human and animal health;
• to highlight a One Health approach to climate change adaptation which may significantly contributes to food security, food safety and environmental sanitation;
• to foster integrated community-based surveillance and control of zoonoses as a promising avenue to reduce health effects of climate change;

10:30 

Tivoli Vredenburg Pandora

Track 5

Infertility: the untold story and still neglected health issue for men and women

Share-Net Netherlands, Knowledge Platform for sexual and reproductive health and rights, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Netherlands' Working Party for International Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health 

Chair: Prof Jelle Stekelenburg, UMC Groningen, Consultant Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Medical Center Leeuwarden and member NL Working Party for International Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health

Speakers: Dr Papreen Nahar, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, UK; Dr Charlotte Frederike van Teunenbroek, Leeuwarden Medical Centre, Netherlands; Dr Cynthia Witsenburg, Dimbayaa Fertility Programme, Gambia

The purpose of this session is to break the silence on infertility, one of the most neglected and stigmatized health issues. 

Our aim is to:

• improve understanding that infertility is a serious health and human rights issue, affecting men and women, with gross inequities in [access to] information,
• diagnostic care and support;
• enhance learning about people’s perception of infertility and how they cope with infertility;
• disseminate information about what can be done (also by young people) to protect people’s sexual and reproductive health, including their fertility;

10:30

Tivoli Vredenburg Cloud Nine

Track 2

Oral Abstract Presentations: Malaria (1)

Spatio-Temporal Bayesian Models for Malaria Risk Using Survey and Health Facility Routine Data in Rwanda (Muhammed Semakula et al.)

Malaria molecular surveillance use cases demonstrated with highly multiplexed AmpliSeq targeted NGS assays (Eline Kattenberg et al.)

Safety and efficacy of primaquine in patients with P. vivax malaria from South Asia: A systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis (Reena Verma et al.)

Stakeholder analysis, in-depth interviews and community surveys on expanded roles of malaria community health workers in Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam (Monnaphat Jongdeepaisal et al.)

Evolution and spread of Plasmodium falciparum dhps quintuple mutant carrying the I431V mutation in Central Africa: a cross-sectional study (Emilie Guemas et al.)

Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets: survivorship, physical integrity and insecticidal activity three years after distribution to households in Afghanistan (Martijn Vink et al.)

10:30 

Tivoli Vredenburg Club Nine

Track 1

How to scale up novel health interventions? An emerging field.

KIT Royal Tropical Institute

Co-chairs: Dr Beatrice Kirubi, Stop TB Partnership, Innovation & Grants Team, Global Health Campus, Switzerland; Dr Egbert Sondorp, KIT Health Associate; Honorary Assistant Professor London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK

Speakers: Aniek Woodward, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Athena Institute, the Netherlands, KIT Royal Tropical Institute, the Netherlands; Esmée Hessel, KIT Royal Tropical Institute, the Netherlands; Dr Susan Bulthuis, KIT Royal Tropical Institute, the Netherlands; Dr Stephen John, Janna Health Foundation, Nigeria

The purpose of this symposium is to inform participants about the emerging field of scaling up health innovations through the presentation of case studies and sharing of experiences, addressing the multiple dimensions of the scale-up process. 

Case studies will address the process of scaling up of psychological intervention for refugees, tuberculosis care interventions and district health management strengthening interventions. Participants will be engaged through a discussion/debate about the barriers and enablers of scaling-up health interventions in complex systems and contexts. Provocative statements will be discussed in small groups. Finally, the Chairs will summarize the session and key lessons learned from the debate such as the complexity of scaling up, how to plan for scale up, and a systems perspective.

10:30

Tivoli Vredenburg The Pit

Track 3

Maternal health and non-communicable disease in low- and middle-income countries

Equity in Health and Research Initiative, Nigeria, Action on Pre-eclampsia, Ghana; UMC Utrecht, the Netherlands

Chair: Dr Nazmul Alam, Asian University for Women

Speakers: Dr Salisu Ishaku, UMC Utrecht, the Netherlands, Equity in Health and Research Initiative Nigeria, Koiwah Koi-Larbi, Executive Director, Action on Pre-eclampsia, Ghana; Dr Zainab Datti-Ahmed, Bayero University/Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria; Dr Kitty Bloemenkamp, WKZ Birth Centre, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital Utrecht

In this panel, we will investigate the current situation in relation to previous hypertensive disorders in pregnancy and non-communicable diseases in Low- and Middle-Income Income Countries (LMICs). 

We will discuss the following themes:

• Association between previous hypertensive disorders in pregnancy and non-communicable diseases in LMICs;
• Current guideline/efforts in preventing, detecting and managing non-communicable diseases following hypertensive disorders in pregnancy;
• Recommendations and future research needs;

An increasing body of knowledge strongly suggests associations between prior pregnancy complications and subsequent chronic non-communicable diseases later in life. In particular, a group of pregnancy complications generally referred to as the ‘Maternal Placental Syndromes (hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, abruptio placenta, low birth weight/small for gestational age and gestational diabetes) are known to be strong predictors of poor long-term health in women. This creates double epidemiological disease burden in many LMICs from persisting infectious diseases coupled with rising non-communicable diseases prevalence. 

10:30 

Social Impact Factory Event Space

Track 1

Scenario-based workshop on climate change and pandemic threats

Pandemic & Disaster Preparedness Center

Chair: Dr Anja Schreijer, Pandemic & Disaster Preparedness Center

Speakers: Dr Reina Sikkema, Department of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Centre, the Netherlands; plus five facilitators to guide the groups

The emergence of new infectious diseases has been occurring at an accelerated pace in recent decades. Many emerging infections are zoonotic and/or vector-borne in origin. At the same time, the geographical distribution of existing infectious diseases is changing, with diseases like malaria, dengue and tick-borne encephalitis being found in regions where they were previously uncommon. The growing threat of both existing and emerging infections is intrinsically linked to climate change. 

Additional factors that contribute to the heightened risk of new infectious disease outbreaks are increased contact between humans and wildlife habitats due to human expansion into previously untouched areas, increased contact between humans and domestic animals driven by changes in food production, and greater human interconnectedness due to urbanization and globalization. Moreover, biodiversity loss may exacerbate infectious disease transmission by reducing alternative hosts for pathogens. It is therefore evident that an interdisciplinary/cross-sectoral approach to the mitigation of climate-related trends in infectious diseases is essential.

In an interactive, scenario-driven case study, Pandemic & Disaster Preparedness Center researchers invite you to delve into a real-world climate-related crisis with a substantial risk of triggering an infectious disease outbreak. 

In teams, the objective is to: 

1. Work together to identify the immediate and far-reaching consequences of the crisis 
2. Suggest solutions/ interventions as well as the short and long-term risk-benefit analysis of each approach from an interdisciplinary perspective 
3. Come to an unanimous decision/recommendation regarding how the teams intends to advise policymakers to intervene in the situation

 In doing so, the aims of this session are to understand the drivers of climate-related pandemic threats and explore the complexity of applying suitable interventions to mitigate both immediate and long-term implications.

The Pandemic & Disaster Preparedness Center was established to better understand and prepare for climate-related threats in an interdisciplinary manner. Knowledge from a research project on climate change and vector borne diseases will be used in this serious game.

10:30

Social Impact Factory Room 1 Sydney

Track 2

Closing the gap for children affected by Neglected Tropical Diseases

Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative

Co-chairs: Janice Lee, Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, Switzerland; Hye Lynn Choi, World Health Organisation, Switzerland

Speakers: Dr Martina Penazzato, World Health Organization Switzerland; Dr Fabiana Alves, Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, Switzerland, Dr Jose Ramon Franco Minguell, World Health Organization, Switzerland, Dr Sabine Specht, Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, Switzerland, Dr Peter Steinman,  Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Dr Amadou Garba Djirmay, World Health Organisation African Regional Office, Republic of Congo

This session will highlight a global initiative to tackle the unmet therapeutic needs of children affected by neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).  It is estimated that over 800 million children are affected by NTDs. Without appropriate treatment and formulations, children suffer from even greater neglect when it comes to treating these diseases.

The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDI) has joined forces with the Global Accelerator for Paediatric Formulations (GAP-f) to accelerate access to child-friendly drug formulations for neglected tropical diseases. Between 2022 and 2023, Paediatric Drug Optimization (PADO) processes were launched for four NTDs: schistosomiasis, human African trypanosomiasis, onchocerciasis, and visceral leishmaniasis, to define priority molecules and formulations to be developed for children as well as priority research questions. Experts from these four PADOs will share their experiences, challenges and major breakthroughs which will help close the gap for children affected by NTDs.

10:30

Social Impact Factory Room 2 Singapore

Track 6

Monitoring and prognostics in paediatric critical care in low-income settings

Amsterdam Institute of Global Health and Development (AIGHD), the Netherlands; Amsterdam UMC, the Netherlands; Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi

Co-chairs: Dr Job Calis, AIGHD, the Netherlands, Amsterdam UMC, the Netherlands, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS), Blantyre, Malawi; Dr Jenala Njirammadzi, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi

Speakers: Dr Roxanne Assies, AUMC/AIGHD/KUHeS, Dr Wieger Voskuijl, AUMC/AIGHD/KUHeS; Dr Clare Wilson, Imperial College London, UK; Dr Jenala Njirammadzi, KUHeS; Dr Niek Versteegde, GOAL3, Den Bosch

Monitoring is essential in paediatric critical care to prioritise care and apply timely interventions. Especially in low resource settings this is essential as patient numbers are high whilst staff and resources are limited.

On admission several prediction models have been designed to guide these decisions but very few have been implemented. Once patient are admitted to hospital the monitoring tools are scarce.

Continuous monitoring is commonly used in high income settings but applying monitors in low resource settings face several barriers and may need to be redesigned for use in these settings. Modern technologies such as contactless sensors and artificial intelligence may provide solutions to these challenges and could allow to predict the future.

The purpose of this session is to share knowledge on new prediction models and advances in continuous patient monitoring in paediatric critical care in low resource settings.

Our objective is to help build a community to improve critical care monitoring. Expanding the current initiative by the EDCTP-sponsored IMPALA consortium

10:30 

Social Impact Factory Room 3 Seoul

Track 1

Building bridges in essential surgical care and education

Netherlands Society for International Surgery; Radboud UMC Nijmegen; Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Malawi; Global Surgery Amsterdam; UMC Utrecht / Wilhemina Kinderziekenhuis (WKZ), the Netherlands

Co-chairs: Dr Eva Stortelder, pediatric surgeon, WKZ; Dr Marije Gordinou, oncological surgeon, WKZ; Dr Hanna Hazenberg, on behalf of the Netherlands Society for International Surgery

Speakers: Dr Kees van Laarhoven, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Dr Lucy Kaomba, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital Blantyre, Malawi; Dr Matthijs Botman, UMC Amsterdam and founder of Global Surgery Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Surgical care is an essential part of global health and planetary health, accounting for one-third of the global burden of disease, and global surgery has been high on the international agenda for several years. By improving surgical care and surgical training, health care systems will also improve. Improving access to surgical care, and optimizing quality of surgical care and education, will diminish the burden of disease that now strikes millions of patients. 

In this session inspiring examples of surgical partnerships in health care and education will be presented, followed by a lively discussion on how we could further build sustainable bridges in global surgery, aiming for planetary health for all.

The purpose of this session is to:

• Introduce the concept of essential surgical care and the 'neglected surgical patient' in global health care;
• Give inspiring examples of surgical partnerships in health care and education that are need- and demand driven, sustainable and adapted to local context;
• Start an interactive discussion with the audience on what sustainable surgical partnerships should include and how we could best and efficiently collaborate from low and high income settings to reach this;

12:15

Tivoli Vredenburg Grote Zaal

WHO Health 4 All Film Festival

Mapping Survival (2023) by Nacho Corbella 

This is the story of how a nomad in Chad while advocating for the rights of her community, has become a leader in the fight against climate change and a voice for Indigenous people across the planet.

Gen Z Mental Health by Maxfield Biggs 

In this short documentary, Gen Z'ers from around the globe talk about how climate change affects their mental health, life choices, & their visions for the future. The Gen Z'ers featured in this documentary are climate ambassadors in their community, fighting against the government for their rights and finding joy through community action.
They deal with the duality of feeling young and sometimes powerless, whilst being empowered by community action and the chance for real change. These young people share about their tools for emotional resilience in the face of climate change and the power of stories to deal with climate anxiety.

The Speech of Txai Surui by Alexandre Juruena 

The memorable and historic speech by Txai Suruí at the opening of COP-26: UN Conference on Climate Change, in Glasgow, Scotland (2021).

Txai Suruí is a Brazilian indigenous activist leader, of the Paiter-Suruí ethnic group. She was the only indigenous person in Latin America and the only Brazilian to speak at COP-26. Her speech was made in front of more than 100 heads of state and echoed across the planet.

The film was shown the following year, at COP 27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in a panel in which Txai Surui was participating. Film made in stop motion and 2d animation by the high school students of Escola Parque (Multimedia Project).

12:15

Tivoli Vredenburg Cloud Nine

Leveraging public health education for women from marginalized communities: experiences from Asian University for Women

Asian University for Women, Bangladesh; UMC Utrecht, the Netherland

Chair: Dr Nazmul Alam, Asian University for Women

Speakers: Dr Mohiuddin Ahsanul Kabir Chowdhury, Asian University for Women; Camilla Alay Llamas, UMC Utrecht; Dr Sayed Nazim Uddin, Director of Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Health; Mukta Dushad, Alumna, Asian University for Wome

The Asian University for Women (AUW), a regional university based in Chittagong, Bangladesh offers academic programmes to promising young women from various cultural, religious, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds mainly from the countries of the Global South. AUW is unique not only in Bangladesh but in the region to offer public health education at under-graduation level with the objective of developing women public health leaders who can sustainably address and improve public health challenges and strive to eliminate health disparities across Asia. Public Health sector in Bangladesh and many other Asian countries faces a chronic high-skilled workforce shortage putting dents to sustainable human development. Considering the immediate challenges identified at AUW as bottle neck for delivering public health education to the diverse pool of students, we established strategic collaboration with the researchers at UMC Utrecht for academic and technical support.

 Of more than 200 students currently enrolled in public health major, a significant majority of them came from the most underserved communities including hill tribes, ready-made garments factories, refugees, ethnic minorities in Afghanistan, Myanmar and India, daughters of micro-finance borrowers and workers on the tea estates in Assam and Sri Lanka. Public health department at AUW motivates students from disadvantaged background not only to excel in their academics but also to undertaken cutting edge research in the field. A number of senior thesis research project undertaken by public health students from tea garden and Rohingya refugee community will be presented in the session.

12:15

Social Impact Factory Event Space

Track 1

Serious gaming for planetary health education

Act4Health (International Federation of Medical Students Associations - the Netherlands)

Co-chairs: Loraine Reichwein, IFMSA-NL; Anouk Nusselder, IFMSA-NL

How can you explain the complex relations between climate and health in an engaging and interactive way? How can you stimulate the systems thinking that planetary health requires in your students or participants? And how can you motivate students to reflect on their own position and responsibility with regards to the planetary crises we are facing today. 

In this session, we will discuss and experience how serious gaming can be used in planetary health education. IFMSA-NL and MedZero developed their own serious game aimed at (future) health professionals, that explains the complex relations between climate change and health, reflects on climate justice and disproportionate health effects of vulnerable populations and that offers participants space to reflect on their own role. In this session, we will introduce you to this game and discuss how this game has come about.

12:15

Social Impact Factory Room 1 Sydney

Simulation of social justice: how games could demonstrate health equity

KIT Royal Tropical Institute, the Netherlands

Chair: Mahdi Abdelwahab, KIT Royal Tropical Institute

Speakers: Mahdi Abdelwahab, KIT Royal Tropical Institute, Dinu Abdella, KIT Royal Tropical Institute

Simulation games, provide a unique opportunity for participants to experience and reflect on the learning messages. With good facilitation, participants can be dynamically engaged in discussions that build on their experiences, instead of being passive recipients of the information. They’re fun and captivating, leaving a lasting impression on students long after graduation.

At KIT Innovation Lab, we have adapted and developed games on health equity, such as the “Health Equity Walk”, and the “Health Resources Allocation Game”, that we would love to share and demonstrate in an interactive session with conference participants. These games are suitable for classrooms, workshops, meetings, or even fun game nights.

During the session, we will also reveal for the first time our new game; “SDHopoly: The Game of Health Equity”, a collaborative board game that we designed and piloted over the past two years. The game explores the social determinants of health through various situations and actions. Players work together to employ their unique abilities and develop solutions to minimize the health equity gaps.

Join us for a demo of the gameplay in an interactive session and experience the power of serious games in Health Equity promotion!

Due to the limited capacity, participants will join based on a first-come, first-served basis.

13:30

Tivoli Vredenburg Grote Zaal

Track 3

A hidden tragedy: Why do so many people still die from lack of insulin?

Health Action International, the Netherlands

Chair: Prof Hans V Hogerzeil, University Medical Centre Groningen

Speakers: Molly Lepeska, Health Action International, Dr Margaret Ewen, Health Action International, Dr George Msengi, Civil Society Working Group, World Health Organisation, Janeth Marilyn Tenorio Mucha, CRONICAS Peru

Few practitioners and global health experts are aware of the hidden tragedy of the widespread lack of insulin in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Even hundred years after its discovery, about half the people in the world who need of insulin for their diabetes still have no access to this life-saving medicine. Lack of insulin leads to serious complications, disability and premature death.

Human insulin has been off-patent for many decades, but the insulin market is strongly dominated by only three pharmaceutical companies who leave very little room for meaningful competition. In many LMICs, monthly patient prices for insulin and blood glucose monitoring sticks can be over half a month’s minimum wage. Newer insulin analogues are 5-10 times more expensive and are heavily promoted yet offer very few clinical advantages. The production and supply of biosimilar insulin products in LMICs faces many technical and regulatory challenges.

Globally, about 463 million people have diabetes, projected to increase to 700 million by 2045. The ever-increasing need for life-long prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes, is a challenge for governments in their efforts towards achieving universal health coverage. Insulin ranks in the top five most expensive medicines in NCD programmes. The lack of heat-stable products complicates regular supply and home use in tropical climates.

From the health-system perspective of universal access to life-long treatment, ensuring uninterrupted access to insulin is a perfect test-case. The ultimate solution must be sought in the promotion of more competition by increasing the number of biosimilar insulins in the market, the inclusion of essential diabetes supplies (insulin, syringes, and blood glucose self-monitoring tools) in national health insurance programmes, and the integration of diabetes care into decentralized NCD programmes. Countries like Tanzania, Kyrgyzstan and Peru have made very good progress in this regard and may provide practical lessons for other countries.

13:30

Tivoli Vredenburg Hertz

Track 1

Ethical partnerships for health worker migration: perspectives, interests, criteria

Wemos

Chair: Corinne Hinlopen, Wemos

Speakers: Professor Dr Monique Kremer, Dutch Advisory Council on Migration, Dr Nadja Rakowitz, German Association for Democratic Doctors, Sophie van Hoenselaar, OTTO Health Care, (pre-recorded) interventions by Filipino Nurses United and Council for Health and Development

Like many other high-income countries, the Netherlands struggles with increasing health worker shortages. Measures taken by the Dutch government to tackle them are mainly aimed at increasing the intake of students, rolling out a campaign to emphasize the appeal of working in health and care and urging health employers and facility managers to improve working conditions and increase retention.

The possibility of recruiting from abroad has been mentioned by influential stakeholders and thinktanks. The Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy mentions ‘targeted recruitment from abroad’ to increase labour supply. The report stresses that an explicit government policy in this area has ‘far-reaching implications, not just for healthcare but also for society, the economy, and government policy. This is why a broad-based political consideration is needed’.

More recently, the Dutch Advisory Committee on Migration Affairs published a report exploring the opportunities and conditions for ethical labour migration policy for health workers. The report draws from lessons from earlier experiences, highlights in detail the practical and ethical pros and cons of international recruitment of health workers and translates these into concrete policy recommendations.

But what is ‘ethical recruitment’ in practice? Wemos’ view is: that depends on whom you ask. In this session, we will bring together different stakeholders, all with their own perspectives, experiences and ideas. We will explore the question whether these perspectives are compatible and if there are ethical partnerships thinkable that can potentially accommodate all interests.

13:30 

Tivoli Vredenburg Pandora

Track 2

Cost-efficient monitoring and evaluation of soil-transmitted helminths control programmes

Department of Translational Physiology, Infectiology and Public Health, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium; Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Co-chairs: Bruno Levecke, Ghent University; Lisette Van Lieshout, Leiden University Medical Center

Speakers: Prof Luc E. Coffeng, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Ms Sara Roose, Ghent University, Prof Sitara SR Ajjampur, The Wellcome Trust Research Laboratory, Christian Medical College, Mr Peter Ward, (1) Enaiblers, Sweden; (2) IDLab, Department of Electronics and information systems, University of Ghent - Imec, Belgium; Mr Adama Kazienga, Ghent University

Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) remain a public health concern, affecting approximately 1.5 billion of the world’s population. In response, the World Health Organization (WHO) released its new 2030 targets for STH control programmes, aiming to reduce the number of tablets needed in preventive chemotherapy (PC) and eliminate STH as a public health problem. To track the progress toward achieving these targets, cost-efficient monitoring and evaluation (M&E) strategies are crucial. This is because STHs are predominant in resource-constrained countries, and it is important to minimize operational costs while ensuring the correctness of the programme decision.

This session will provide participants with new approaches for M&E of STH control programmes. In addition, the WHO launched a call to develop new and performant diagnostic methods in its 2021-2030 neglected tropical diseases roadmap. In response, our session will provide a view on promising and alternative diagnostic methods for M&E of STH control programmes. These promising tools are serology (detecting anti-parasite antibodies in the blood) and artificial intelligence-based digital pathology and might create the opportunity to further reduce the operational cost during M&E surveys by increasing the throughput rate.

13:30

Tivoli Vredenburg Cloud Nine

Track 2

Oral Abstract Presentations: Malaria (2)

External validation of the World Health Organization Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) protocol for malaria testing in low malaria risk areas (Nadia Cattaneo et al.)

Malaria transmission dynamic on border areas in very low transmission phase: what role do mobilities play? (Hélène Tréhard et al.)

Phenotypic resistance but absence of knockdown mutations in Anopheles albimanus exposed to deltamethrin in southern coastal Ecuador (Sebasthian Real-Jaramillo et al.)

High genetic flow and absence of knockdown mutations in Anopheles albimanus from two coastal regions of Ecuador (Juan José Bustillos et al.)

Assessment study of the knowledge, prevalence and control strategies of malaria among households, Sunyani Municipality, Bono Region, Ghana (Samuel Yaw Agyemang-Badu et al.)

13:30

Tivoli Vredenburg Club Nine

Track 1

Utilizing geospatial methods to drive health service delivery in the era of climate change

KIT Royal Tropical Institute; Institute of Global Health; Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva

Co-chairs: Dr Mirjam Bakker, KIT Royal Tropical Institute; Professor Nicolas Ray, Institute of Global Health & Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva

Speakers: Professor Nicolas Ray, Institute of Global Health & Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, Dr Muhammed Semakula, KIT Royal Tropical Institute, the Netherlands; Dr Fleur Hierink, Institute of Global Health & Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, Switzerland; Jacopo Margutti, Data Scientist & Emergency Response Coordinator, 510, The Netherlands Red Cross

This session aims to facilitate knowledge sharing and exchange among participants, providing valuable insights into geospatial methodologies using various sources of secondary data to inform, plan, and monitor health service delivery.

Presenters will showcase a suite of different spatial analysis and geoprocessing methodologies, which have been successfully applied in different contexts, including acute crisis response and tuberculosis care. The focus will be on current uses of geospatial methodologies in directing health service delivery and climate resilience.

The session will also discuss health care planning for crisis preparedness and response, where existing health disparities are likely to be magnified and where resources need to be precisely targeted. Additionally, the session will present the conceptualization of these approaches for surveillance and projection of climate change related health impacts. The presenters will provide insights into the methodologies, while highlighting the challenges to improving, such as data caveats and knowledge exchange between different scientific disciplines.

The discussion will then focus on the use of these approaches in health service delivery considering the impacts of the climate crises, including vector-borne diseases, migration of vulnerable populations, and natural hazard-induced disasters. Participants will be invited to share their experiences in the field and encouraged to share challenges and potential solutions.

13:30

Tivoli Vredenburg The Pit

Track 6

Oral Abstract Presentations: Adolescent and Child Health

Neurodevelopment among children born after obstructed labour in Eastern Uganda (Martin Chebet et al.)

Hypoxaemia prevalence, management and outcome among children presenting to low-level health facilities in Tanzania and Rwanda (Alix Miauton et al.)

Adolescent health and well-being in communities affected by extractive industries in Mozambique: a stakeholder perspective (Olga Cambaco et al.)

The main determinants of drugs and alcohol use amongst adolescents in seven districts in Rwanda (Véronique Zinnen et al.)

The prevalence of mental disorders and suicidal behavior among adolescents in Kenya: Evidence from the Kenya National Adolescent Mental Health Survey (Yohannes Wado et al.)

Mitigating HIV treatment challenges faced by children and adolescents through the triple case management model in Chingola and Chililabombwe districts of Zambia (James Mwanza et al.)

13:30

Social Impact Factory Event Space

Track 5

Ensuring mother and child health care in a protracted crisis: the experience of Afghanistan

KIT Royal Tropical Institute, the Netherlands; HealthNet TPO

Chair: Sandra Alba, KIT Royal Tropical Institute, the Netherlands

Speakers: Abdul Majeed Siddiqi, HealthNet TPO; Margo van Gurp, MSc, KIT Royal Tropical Institute; Dr Nasratullah Ansari, independent researcher, Dr Egbert Sondorp, KIT Royal Tropical Institute and WHO advisor

The sudden regime change in Afghanistan in August 2021, with the Taliban now leading the de-facto government, has been a major shock to the health system. Major threats to the system include the withdrawal of international funding, a massive drain of clinical and public health professionals, and concerns over negative influence of the new government lacking the competence to run the health systems. A further threat is the regime’s perspective on human rights that negatively affects women’s and minorities’ access to health care.

The SEHAT and Sehatmandi public health programmes were implemented consecutively in Afghanistan until 2021 to ensure universal access to health services and health equity, with a strong focus on maternal and child health care. With the Taliban take-over international donors withdrew development funding towards these programmes which are now being sustained in a more reduced form primarily though humanitarian funding streams.

In this session we discuss the resilience of the health system in providing universal access maternal and child health service considering three phases: 1) absorbing the shock of the 2021 Taliban take-over, 2) adaptation of the health system in response to change, and 3) possibilities that lie ahead to transform the health system given in the new political reality, to continue ensuring equitable access to health services, despite increasingly challenging living and working conditions for women.

13:30

Social Impact Factory Room 1 Sydney

Track 5

Oral Abstract Presentations: Vulnerable populations and gender-based violence (1)

Modus operandi of war time rape: the case of Tigray, Ethiopia (Kokob Gebru Kidanu et al.)

Addressing the evidence gap for gender-based violence in Northwest Ethiopia 2022 (Keflie Yohannes Gebresilassie et al.)

Addressing the needs of Ethiopia’s street homeless women of reproductive age in the health and social protection policy: a qualitative study (Kalkidan Yohannes et al.)

A perpetual culture of emergency: a scoping review on access to sexual and reproductive healthcare for refugees in camps and informal settlements in the WHO European region (Jamilah Sherally et al.)

Care to gender-based violence survivors in Benin: is social dimension in the community the missing piece of the puzzle? (Paulin Codjo Sogbohossou et al.)

13:30

Social Impact Factory Room 2 Singapore

Track 2

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) epidemiology and global burden of disease

ResViNET

Chair: Dr Lieke de Vrankrijker, UMC Utrecht, the Netherlands

Speakers: Dr Natalie Mazur, UMC Utrecht the Netherlands; Dr Jonne Terstappen, UMC Utrecht, the Netherlands; Dr Senjuti Saha, Child Health Research Foundation, Bangladesh

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is the second leading cause of infant mortality after the neonatal period with more than 99% of childhood deaths occurring in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). 

Nevertheless, the RSV burden in children is likely underestimated, and major gaps in knowledge regarding RSV disease burden have been addressed only recently. In older adults (aged >60 years), the burden of morbidity and mortality due to RSV was also underestimated until recently. 

Modelling studies now estimate that the RSV burden is similar to the burden of seasonal influenza in adults older than 65 years. Preliminary economic evaluations have highlighted the potential value of a vaccine for older adults, especially in high-income countries.

13:30

Social Impact Factory Room 3 Seoul

Track 2 and Track 6

Training in sustainable local collaboration in the global health setting; examples from the field

Opleidingsinstituut Internationale Gezondheidszorg en Tropengeneeskunde (OIGT)

 Co-chairs: Dr Albertine Baauw, OIGT, Dr Heleen Kruip, OIGT

 Speakers: Dr Bwire Chirangi, Shirati KMT Hospital, Tanzania; Jan Rademaker, Shirati KMT Hospital, Tanzania; Bente van der Meijden, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Malawi; Victoria Von Salmuth, Maastricht University, the Netherlands in cooperation with Shirati KMT Hospital, Tanzania; Dr Nikolien van de Ven, AIGT; Dr Margarita Boering, AIGT; Dr Lombani Mhango, AIGT; Dr Starlin Vijay, Psychiatrist at Makunda Christian Leprosy and General Hospital, Assam, India

Which conditions are needed to prepare health care professionals to create sustainable collaborations in global health settings, within the evolving perspectives on planetary health and health equity? What does this mean for the Global Health & Tropical Medicine training programme (Physician GH&TM) and other training programmes?

Examples of local projects that OIGT residents have worked on during their training for Physician GH&TM will be presented. Consequently, a plenary discussion will take place where session participants are invited to share their experiences and thoughts on the subject. Principle values and conditions for sustainable collaboration in the global health setting will be discussed and formulated as take-home messages for training programmes and courses.  

13:30

Social Impact Factory Room 4 Dublin

Track 1

Oral Abstract Presentations: Environmental exposures

Sociodemographic factors rather than early-life exposure to ambient air pollution increases risk of under-5 mortality in the Navrongo Health and Demographic Surveillance Site (Ali Moro et al.)

Longitudinal associations of neighbourhood environmental exposures with externalising and internalising problems during adolescence: findings from the TRAILS study (Yi Zeng et al.)

Can causal structure discovery be used to strengthen inference for exposome studies? (Salome Kakhaia et al.)

A quantitative assessment of natural and anthropogenic effects on the occurrence of high air pollution levels in Dhaka and neighboring cities and its health consequences (Riaz Hossain Khan et al.)

Variability in main sources of improved drinking water over time in Latin America and the Caribbean (John McLennan)

Impact of a raw coal ban upon air pollution and maternal health in Ulaanbaatar: an interrupted time series study (Emma Dickinson-Craig et al.)

15:30

Tivoli Vrendenburg Grote Zaal

Track 4

Planetary health and wellbeing: what does mental health mean on a warmer planet? Transdisciplinary views and diverse contexts

Be-Cause Health/Planetary Health working group, Erasmus School of Health Policy and Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Chair: John Jamir Benzon R. Aruta, Department of Psychology, De La Salle University Philippines

Speakers: John Jamir Benzon R. Aruta, De La Salle University Philippines; Dr Matteo Innocenti, Instituto Psicologico Italiano, Italy; Davide Ziveri, Handicap International, Belgium; Hilda Flavia Nakabuye and Rivka Meelis, Fridays For Future, Uganda & Netherlands; Adrian Xopan, Mexican Indigenous; Chiara Cadeddu, Erasmus School of Health Policy and Management - Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Elisa Vanlerberghe, Francarita Belgium; Michele Lapini, freelance photographer

The climate crisis is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century, affecting the health of the earth and all life on it (including human life).

While the consequences of the climate emergency on physical health have been described in literature, mental health impacts are given less consideration and evidence is still limited. Extreme weather events represent potential stressors and triggers for trauma and mental illness, such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Furthermore, ongoing or anticipated climate and environmental change can negatively affect mental wellbeing, causing eco-anxiety, eco-paralysis and/or other chronic conditions, and exacerbate conflicts and violence in countries already hit by social injustice.

In this view, youth climate activists and indigenous communities are relevant voices to be listened at. They could guide us in seeing the climate crisis as a health crisis that should be analyzed and tackled through a planetary health approach.

This workshop will combine content on direct and indirect impacts on mental health of the climate crisis by different and distinctive perspectives with debates and an interactive session with audience. This interdisciplinary presentation aims at fostering a productive exchange to explore public health issues at the interface of climate change and mental health.

The aims of the workshop are to:

• gain deeper understanding of the climate change impacts on public mental health;
• hear and learn from perspectives and engagement experiences by resilient communities and individuals;
• explore possible good practices when working with communities to improve climate change-related mental health outcomes;
• engage the global health sector in the fight against climate injustice and for health equity;

15:30

Tivoli Vrendenburg Hertz

Track 2

Clinical development of new anti-malarials

German Society for Tropical Medicine, Travel Medicine and Global Health c/o Bernhard-Nocht-Institut für Tropenmedizin, Hamburg, Germany

Co-chairs: Dr Carsten Köhler, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Travel Medicine and Human Parasitology, Germany; Professor Peter G. Kremsner, Tübingen University, Germany

Speakers: Professor Michael Ramharter, Bernhard-Nocht-Institut für Tropenmedizin, Germany; Dr Jana Held, I Tübingen University, Germany; Dr Rella Manego, Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL), Gabon; Dr Ghyslain Mombo-Ngoma, CERMEL, Gabon and Bernhard-Nocht-Institut für Tropenmedizin, Germany

Every year there are more than 200 million cases of malaria and about half a million deaths worldwide; African children aged five and under bear the major burden. The most effective way to prevent an uncomplicated case of malaria from developing into severe disease and death is through prompt diagnosis and treatment. Currently, artemisinin-based combination therapies are the mainstay of treatment in all malaria-endemic countries. However, history has taught us that malaria parasites can become resistant to almost all drugs used heavily in clinical practice.

Therefore, there is an urgency to achieve the development of new combinations of antimalarial drugs with new mechanisms of action. The ultimate goal is the development of a combination of new compounds that block all stages and are potent enough to work as a curative single-dose, described as a Single Exposure, Radical Cure and Prophylaxis (SERCaP) treatment.

To preserve the existing antimalarial drugs, there are suggestions of triple or more combination therapies to gain time while new drugs with different modes of action and no cross-resistance with the current drugs will be implemented. There are presently several compounds in patient exploratory phases for blood-stage treatments including the imidazolopiperazine ganaplacide (KAF156), the more rapidly acting spironolactone cipargamin (KAE609), the Plasmodium eukaryotic translation elongation factor 2 (PeEF2) inhibitor M5717, the triaminopyrimidine ZY19489, and the more recent imidazothiadiazole INE963.

In this session we will present updates on clinical trials on triple and quadruple therapies made of artemether-lumefantrine plus atovaquone-proguanil or artesunate-pyronaridine plus fosmidomycin for uncomplicated malaria and artesunate-fosmidomycin-clindamycin for severe malaria, in addition to updates on the development of the combinations ZY19489-ferroquine, ganaplacide-lumefantrine, and M5717-pyronaridine.

15:30

Tivoli Vredenburg Pandora

Track 2

Strongyloidiasis: challenges in endemic and non -endemic areas

IRCCS Sacro Cuore Verona, Italy; Leiden UMC, the Netherlands

Co-chairs: Dr Dora Buonfrate, IRCCS Verona, Italy; Professor Lisette van Lieshout, Leiden UMC, the Netherlands

Speakers: Professor Emmanuel Bottieau, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium; Professor Jennifer Keiser, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Switzerland; Professor Lisette van Lieshout, Leiden UMC, the Netherlands; Professor José Muñoz, ISGlobal, Spain; Professor Jennifer Keiser, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Switzerland

Strongyloidiasis by S. stercoralis is a neglected tropical disease that, according to most recent estimates, affects around 600 million people worldwide. There is no gold standard for diagnosis, and testing methods should vary based on setting (e.g. endemic versus non-endemic area) and purpose (e.g. screening versus individual diagnosis). Also, treatment strategies may vary according to the context. 

The aim of this session is to present the peculiarities and complexities of strongyloidiasis, highlighting the different approaches needed for diagnosis, clinical management and control in endemic versus non-endemic areas.

15:30

Tivoli Vredenburg Cloud Nine

Track 3

Developing national roadmaps for scaling-up integrated care – lessons to be learned from the SCUBY project

UMC Utrecht in collaboration with the SCUBY consortium

Chair: Dr Martin Heine, UMC Utrecht, the Netherlands

Speakers: Dr Srean Chimm, National Institute of Public Health, Cambodia; Dr Monika Martens, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium; Dr Črt Zavrnik, Dr Tina Virtic and Dr Matic Mihevc, Primary Healthcare Research and Development Institute, Slovenia; Mr Tyrone Reden Sy, WHO Regional Office for Europe; Dr Sean Taylor, World Heart Federation

The purpose of this session is to present the development and outcome of three country-specific roadmaps (Cambodia, Slovenia, Belgium) for the scale-up of an integrated care package for Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertension. These roadmaps are the end-project of a multi-year, European funded, project titled “Scaling up integrated care for Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertension” (SCUBY).

In the form of a panel discussion (talk-show type format), we will subsequently discuss the value and challenges in developing broad (national, global) strategies and roadmaps for strengthening health systems; and the intricacies of converting such strategies into local or regional change for impact. Dr Grace Marie Ku will host, the panellists/guests converse, and audience participation is encouraged to ask questions or share their opinion/experiences.

The objectives are to:

• Draw lessons from best-practice examples of developing roadmaps for integrated care across three diverse health systems (Cambodia, Slovenia, and Belgium)
• Reflect on the value and challenges encountered, innovations done in response to challenges, and lessons to be learned to develop and to capitalize on national and global strategies, in order to catalyze subnational and regional change

15:30

Tivoli Vredenburg Club Nine

Track 1

Fighting falsified and substandard medicines: acting on evidence in Indonesia and Afghanistan

Erasmus School for Health Policy and Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam; KIT Royal Tropical Institute, the Netherlands

Co-chairs: Dr Maarten Kok, Erasmus School for Health Policy and Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta Indonesia; Dr Elisabeth Kleipool, Dr Sandra Alba, PhD, KIT Royal Tropical Institute, the Netherlands

Speakers: Amalia Hasnida, ESHPM Erasmus University; Maarten Kok ESHPM Erasmus University; Dr Elisabeth Kleipool, KIT Royal Tropical Institute, the Netherlands; Nima Yaghmaei, KIT Royal Tropical Institute, the Netherlands

In this session, we focus on the fight against falsified and substandard medicines in Indonesia and Afghanistan, presenting original studies on the size and nature of the problem and proposing solutions. How big is the problem? What are the root causes and what can be done to protect patients from poor-quality medicines? We will explore different methods for assessing the quality of medicines in both the public and private sector and present empirical examples of both random and risk-based sampling, patient perceptions, and an ongoing review of which medicines in the market are most at risk.

Our interactive session will centre on what can be done to reduce the chance that falsified and substandard medicine penetrate the market and reach patients. We will focus on how research can be used to ensure the safety and efficacy of pharmaceutical products and the need for intergovernmental collaboration, between departments and sectors, regulatory bodies, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders who play a role in ensuring the quality of medicines. Ultimately, our goal is to contribute to the global effort to address the drug quality crisis and improve access to safe and effective medicines for all.

15:30

Tivoli Vredenburg The Pit

Track 1

Oral Abstract Presentations: Humanitarian and disaster mitigation and responses

Where planetary health meets emergency humanitarian medicine: experiences from MSF projects in Honduras, Madagascar and Mozambique (Lachlan McIver)

Health services supervision in a protracted crisis: a qualitative study into supportive supervision practices in South Sudan (George Lutwama et al.)

Assessing health facility preparedness for disaster events in Afghanistan: the application of the SAFE-Prep Tool (Nima Yaghmaei et al.)

Environmental impact and mineral and energy requirements of the use of an electronic clinical decision support algorithm to manage sick children in Tanzania: a life cycle assessment (Nina Emery et al.)

Access to care in Afghanistan: a mixed-methods study exploring trends, barriers, and changes after the Taliban takeover (Martina Valente et al.)

Development of tailored interventions to increase HPV and MMR vaccine uptake in underserved communities in the European region (Bert van Enter et al.)

15:30

Social Impact Factory Event Space

Track 1

The exposome and planetary health - multi-faceted data for a multi-faceted field

Utrecht University

Chair: Dr George Downward, Department of Environmental Epidemiology, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University and UMC Utrecht, the Netherlands

Speakers: Professor Roel Vermeulen, Department of Environmental Epidemiology, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University and UMC Utrecht, the Netherlands; Tabea Sonnenschein, UMC Utrecht, the Netherlands; Salome Kakhaia, UMC Utrecht, the Netherlands; Caspar Safarlou, UMC Utrecht, the Netherlands

There is a complex and inter-connected relationship between human activities, environmental degradation, and disease. The exposome concept was developed with the purpose of examining the entirety of human exposure across the life course.

Within this session we will describe and discuss the role of the exposome and exposomic approaches within the planetary health sphere.

15:30

Social Impact Factory Room 1 Sydney

Track 1

Oral Abstract Presentations: Health Systems (1)

Using corporate human rights benchmarking to advance universal health coverage and equitable access to medicines (Rosalind Turkie et al.)

Determinants of availability of essential medication in public health facilities in Afghanistan (Margo van Gurp et al.)

Toward universal health coverage: an innovative approach to teaching pharmaceutical policies in health systems (Raffaella Ravinetto et al.)

Strengthening the capacity of health system actors within research program consortium: Experience from CHORUS (Baby Naznin et al.)

Applying the ResQ approach to performance-based financing: a theory-based approach to further our understanding of how health care systems function (Dimitri Renmans)

Implementation of a decentralised maintenance model with measurable impact on functionality and availability of medical equipment in health care facilities in Burundi (Farah Beniacoub et al.)

15:30

Social Impact Factory Room 2 Singapore

Track 1

Reflecting on Global Health discourse: towards socially just knowledge construction in Global Health programmes

tropEd

Chair: Lisa Hoffaeller, Center for International Health, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany

Speakers: Dr Karin Gross, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Switzerland; Dr Jani Puradiredja, Bernard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Germany; Francine Egberts, KIT Royal Tropical Institute, the Netherlands

The purpose of this session is to reflect and discuss global health discourses that may implicitly or explicitly enforce social injustice. 

Furthermore, the session aims to provide food for thought: what can lecturers, students and global health professionals do to construct knowledge and narratives in a more equitable and socially just manner?

15:30

Social Impact Factory Room 3 Seoul

Track 6

Oral Abstract Presentations: Paediatric infectious disease

Antibiotic stewardship using the ePOCT+ digital clinical decision support algorithm in primary care facilities in Tanzania: results from a cluster randomized controlled trial (Rainer Tan et al.)

Impact of a novel digital clinical decision support algorithm (e-POCT+) in malaria management cascade in children aged 2 months to 14 Years in Tanzania, results from a cluster randomized controlled trial (Lameck Luwanda et al.)

Effectiveness of a clinical decision support algorithm (ePOCT+) in improving quality of care for sick children in primary health facilities in Tanzania (DYNAMIC project): results from a cluster randomized trial (Godfrey Kavishe et al.)

Clinical predictors of bacteraemia in neonates with suspected early-onset sepsis in Malawi: a prospective cohort study (Tessa de Baat et al.)

Severe RSV Infection among children younger than 2 years admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit in low- and lower-middle income countries (Yvette Löwensteyn et al.)

Prevalence and factors associated with anaemia in children aged 6–24 months living a high malaria transmission setting in Burundi (Jean Claude Nkurunziza et al.)

15:30

Social Impact Factory Room 4 Dublin

Track 2

Oral Abstract Presentations: Outbreaks

The forgotten survivors of epidemics and pandemics: a 2022 cross-sectional study of Ebola virus disease survivors and close contacts in Sierra Leone on clinical and psycho-social effects (Brayden Schindell et al.)

Cholera epidemic and first deployment of the health emergency management project team in Madarounfa, Niger, September 2022 (Moustapha Mahamadou Yacouba)

Frequent monkeypox virus spillover in the northern Republic of the Congo, 2018 – 2022 (Bachir van Egmond et al.)

Spatial clustering, hotspot analysis and temporal distribution of the seventh Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in Uganda (George Paasi et al.)

Constructing a high-level isolation unit in Rwanda and implementing a high – consequence infectious diseases – related training program for healthcare workers: The Efficiency by Edification – Center of Excellence (EFFO-CoE) project (Thomas Paerisch et al.)

Assessment of the effectiveness of rat traps in the control of plague in endemic areas of Madagascar (Vatsiharizandry Mandrosovololona et al.)

17:15

Tivoli Vredenburg Grote Zaal

Track 2

Tuberculosis in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic: how to turn challenges into opportunities. Presentation of COST action ADVANCE TB

On behalf of the institutions involved on the leadership and working groups from COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) action CA21164 Towards an improvement in diagnostics and treatment strategies for TB control (ADVANCE-TB)

Co-chairs: Dr José Domínguez, Institut d'Investigació Germans Trias i Pujol, Spain; Dr Cristina Prat Aymerich, UMC Utrecht, the Netherlands

Speakers: Dr Alicia Lacoma, Institut d'Investigació Germans Trias i Pujol, Spain; Dr Nancy Virginia Sandoval Paiz, Asociación Guatemalteca de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Guatemala; Dr Zorica Nanovic, PHI Institute for Lung Diseases and Tuberculosis, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia; Dr Helen Savage, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK; Dr Lorenzo Guglielmetti, National Reference Center for Mycobacteria, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital; Sorbonne University; Médecins Sans Frontières, France; Dr Saddiq Abdurrahman, Public Health Department, Health and Human Services Secretariat, Abuja, Nigeria

Tuberculosis (TB) has been, already for too many years, the leading cause of mortality from an infectious disease globally.  Although global TB control efforts were not on track even before the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, diagnostic, prevention and treatment strategies have been tremendously impacted in terms of disruption at every single level for the long term planned strategies for TB control.

SARS-CoV-2 is unquestionably a One Health disease and has highlighted the concept of syndemics. The ADVANCE-TB is a research network that offers opportunities for collaboration between clinicians, academic researchers from interdisciplinary backgrounds, industry and non-governmental organizations to achieve breakthroughs difficult to obtain by individual partners, allowing a better understanding of the underlying host-pathogen mechanisms, enabling the transfer of basic science into innovative applications and allowing product development and clinical validation.

This session aims to discuss current gaps and unprecedented opportunities to improve TB management and lessons learned as well as presenting the network as a platform for research coordination and capacity building activities. Objectives for the presentation in this congress aim for strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration which is mandatory for any progress in global health.

17:15

Tivoli Vredenburg Hertz

Arts and Culture

The stories and science behind the ECTMIH 2023 art and culture

Federation of European Societies for Tropical Medicine and International Health, European Congress on Global Health, Nederlandse Vereniging voor Tropische Geneeskunde en internationale Gezondheidszorg 

Chair: Megan Milota, UMC Utrecht and the New Utrecht School, the Netherlands

Speakers: Dr Megan Milota, UMC Utrecht & The New Utrecht School, the Netherlands; Hozan Zangana, Hozan Zangana Studio, the Netherlands; Dr Niloufar Ashtiani, CoMaster, Radiqs, Hozan Sangana Studios, the Netherlands; Dr Saskia Duijs, Amsterdam UMC, the Netherlands; Dr Arsenii Alenichev, University of Oxford, UK; Dr Nazmul Alam, Asian University of Women, Bangladesh

The 13th European Congress on Global Health (ECTMIH 2023) has made a deliberate effort to integrate arts and culture throughout the programme. During this session, we invite the artists whose work are exhibited to tell us more about their inspiration and creative practices. 

First, Megan Milota will provide a general introduction about the role of art and culture in health, healthcare and societal transformation. Three artists will then elaborate on their work. Hozan Zangana and Niloufar Ashtiani will talk about the vision and process behind their sculpture about the Jezedi women that show the invisible wounds of the refugee crisis. Saskia Duijs will share the stories behind her insistent photography about racism and discrimination in elderly care. Arsenii Alenichev will reflect on the lessons learned from his recent art-meets-science exhibition on artificial intelligence’s reproduction of biased imagery in global health visuals. Finally, the various artworks created by the students of the Asian University for Women in Bangladesh will also be introduced by Dr Nazmul Alam.

17:15

Tivoli Vredenburg Pandora

Track 5

Are you applying an intersectional lens to your work on sexual and reproductive health and rights?

Make Way Consortium members: Wemos, the Netherlands; Liliane Fonds, the Netherlands; VSO Netherlands;

Chair: Lisa Ligterink, global health advocate, Wemos, the Netherlands

Speakers: Srushti Mahamuni, Advocacy and SRHR adviser, Liliane Fonds, the Netherlands, other speakers TBC

The Make Way consortium aims to break down structural barriers to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) through an intersectional approach to SRHR advocacy programmes in five countries in East and Southern Africa, as well as at the regional and global level. 

This innovative and pioneering work is done by applying an intersectional lens to SRHR and creating a bridge of evidence that brings theory and practice together to solve SRHR issues with a deep understanding of the complex realities on the ground. This means making overlapping vulnerabilities visible to understand their effects on people’s SRHR, at national, regional and global level. With insights and sound data, we develop innovative tools and build capacities of other civil society organisations to advocate the needed policy and societal changes. 

Our flagship product is the Make Way Intersectional SRHR Toolkit, which contains tools that can help you adopt an intersectional lens in policy and budget analyses, communication, social accountability, youth engagement and youth leadership.  

This session aims to let participants experience intersectionality and provides them with insights into two tools that have been applied in our programme. Together we will explore the different routes to advocate for intersectional SRHR programmes and policies that leave no one behind. 

We will start with the Inclusive Health Game. This game helps participants of the session to understand some of the barriers that people with intersecting identity characteristics face when they make use of health care services – and to create short term and long-term solutions so that participants can better advocate for health equity. Barriers range from how to enter the health centre, to how to access information that is not provided that is not geared towards people with certain characteristics (e.g., disability, gender identity) and counter stigmatizing beliefs about their (sexual and reproductive) health needs.  

17:15 

Tivoli Vredenburg Cloud Nine

Track 2

The challenge of schistosomiasis treatment in young children and pregnant women - example of freeBILy

Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Germany; Leiden UMC, the Netherlands

Co-chairs: Dr Daniela Fusco, Bernhard Nocht Institue for Tropical Medicine, Germany; 2. Dr Govert van Dam, Leiden UMC, the Netherlands

Speakers: Dr Pytsje Hoekstra-Mevius, Leiden UMC, the Netherlands; Professor Raphaël Rakotozandrindrainy, University of Antananarivo, Madagascar;  Dr Josiane Honkpehedji, CERMEL Gabon; Friederike Roeder, IS-Global

The World Health Organization Neglected Tropical Diseases 2030 Roadmap targets for schistosomiasis focus on elimination as a public health problem, and the potential interruption of transmission. As such, there is a need for the alignment of national guidelines and strategies of endemic countries to include all groups at risk for the disease in targeted interventions such as preventive chemotherapy. 

However, there is a lack of prevention and treatment for schistosomiasis in two risk groups: preschool-aged children and pregnant women. Despite being heavily affected by the disease, research and policy have neglected both, (resulting in an absence of systematic treatment and testing practices). The reluctance to treat these two medically vulnerable groups as a preventive measure raised the question if a test and treat strategy might be a more effective solutions to reach these groups. freeBILy is a clinical trial conducted in Gabon and Madagascar. It is aimed at assessing the feasibility, effectiveness and safety of a test-based schistosomiasis treatment with Praziquantel in pregnant women and young children. In this session, we present the findings of the trial in order to discuss with the global health community the next steps needed to further push endemic countries to adapt strategies for treating young children and pregnant women.

After a brief introduction of the trial, four presentations of the main findings will be held. Specifically, we will discuss the diagnostic challenges for schistosomiasis, the safety and tolerability of Praziquantel, the efficacy of treatment in young children and pregnant women and the cost effectiveness of the test and treat strategy for schistosomiasis. A final debate between the speakers and the public will be opened in order to pinpoint challenges and opportunities identified by freeBILy and aligning those with the WHO NTD 2030 Roadmap targets for schistosomiasis.

17:15

Tivoli Vredenburg Club Nine

Track 3

Engaging communities in prevention and control of non-communicable diseases

UMC Groningen, the Netherlands; Trnava University, Slovakia; University of Passau, Germany; HelpAge International, UK; Age International, UK; Thay Nguyen University, Vietnam; Health Strategy and Policy Institute, Vietnam; University Sebelas Maret, Indonesia; University of Public Health, Myanmar

Chair:  Dr Jaap Koot, UMC Groningen, the Netherlands

Speakers: Zinzi Pardoel, UMC Groningen, the Netherlands; Hanneke Vervoort, UMC Groningen, the Netherlands; Dr Jurjen van der Schans, RUG/UMC Groningen, the Netherlands

The purpose of this session is to strengthen community-based approaches in national prevention and control programmes for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in low- and middle-income countries.

We will discuss:

• empowerment strategies for community groups in improving own health and wellbeing;
• strategies of implementing national NCD prevention and control programmes in decentralised health systems;
• cost-effectiveness of community-based strategies
• the experiences of the SUNI-SEA research project in South-East Asia

The session will start with a short video on the experiences of communities involved in the screening and health promotion for NCDs. The speakers will give a short introduction concerning the themes, and afterwards there will be ample time for discussion with the participants in the session,

Key questions might include: how to address social determinants of NCDs at community level? How to strengthen collaboration between primary healthcare and community organisations? How to guarantee quality and continuity of community activities in order to achieve cost-effectiveness?

17:15

Tivoli Vredenburg The Pit

Track 1

Climate Change and waterborne infectious diseases

National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu or RIVM), the Netherlands

Speakers: Jesse Limaheluw, RIVM; Jerome Lock-Wah-Hoon, RIV

Waterborne bacteria, viruses and parasites can cause many different diseases, including diarrheal diseases such as cholera, and remain an important cause of poor health. Most of these diseases are affected by climate change, and impacts are already being observed worldwide. Without adaptation efforts, climate change could slow down progress on reducing their burden of disease. As over 25% of the world population still lacks access to safely managed drinking water, primarily in low- and middle income regions, the implications for public health could be significant.

In this session, we explore the issue of waterborne infectious diseases and climate change through a global health lens. We will discuss how climate change can affect waterborne infectious diseases and how it interacts with other developments such as improvements in access to good water, sanitation and hygiene facilities. Through case studies we will demonstrate what this means in practice and what work is being done to address these challenges. Finally, we will apply these lessons in a serious game and open discussion where we will reflect on real-life scenarios and think of possible solutions to the presented problems.

17:15

Social Impact Factory Event Space

Track 1

Plastics in our air, water and places. Health effects and research challenge

Utrecht University

Chair: George Downward, Department of Environmental Epidemiology, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University and UMC Utrecht, the Netherlands

Speakers: Professor Roel Vermeulen, Department of Environmental Epidemiology, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University and UMC Utrecht, the Netherlands; Dr Runyu Zou, UMC Utrecht, the Netherlands; Laura Zoutendijk, Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis group, Utrecht University, the Netherlands

Over recent decades, humanity has been producing an ever-increasing number of plastics, which have largely been continually accumulating in our environments. Studying exposures and consequences to plastic waste is a challenging and still emerging field.

 In this session we will describe current progress in this field and what health effects can be anticipated.

17:15

Social Impact Factory Room 1 Sydney

Track 4

Oral Abstract Presentations: Mental health in the context of SRHR and maternal health

Trajectories of (mental) well-being: understanding resilience in trans persons in Costa Rica (Natalia S!anchez Villalobos)

Acceptability and feasibility of a group-based mental health intervention for pregnant women in Kenya (Sujan Katuwal et al.)

A systematic review of the epidemiology of maternal mental health in Africa: types, magnitude, determinants, health outcomes and service utilization (Amanuel Abajobir et al.)

The association of HIV status and depressive symptoms in the Ndlovu Cohort Study, South Africa (Li Xiang den Boer et al.)

17:15

Social Impact Factory Room 2 Singapore

Track 6

Global paediatric oncology

UMC Utrecht, the Netherlands; Princess Maxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, the Netherlands

Chair: Dr Minke Huibers, Princess Maxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, the Netherlands

Speakers: Laura van Tinteren, Princess Maxima Center, the Netherlands; Dr Noa Wijnen, Princess Maxima Center, the Netherlands; Dr Larissa Klootwijk, MD, Princess Maxima Center, the Netherlands; Eva Stortelder, MD, Utrecht UMC

This session is about global perspectives on paediatric oncology care. The session elaborates on current achievements and challenges within childhood cancer care globally. 

After an interactive introductory presentation we will dive deeper into current practice and present work on paediatric oncology surgery. Finally, some of the scientific achievements of the programme will be presented by two twinning PhD students.

17:15

Social Impact Factory Room 3 Seoul

Track 6

Oral Abstract Presentations: Health systems in child health

Identifying clinical skill gaps of health workers using a decision support algorithm during consultation in Rwanda (Haykel Karoui et al.)

The first signs of change: predicting clinical deterioration and mortality at different stages during hospital admission. A systematic review of risk prediction models in children in Low-and Middle-Income countries (Deborah van den Brink et al.)

The impact of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes on child mortality in Ghana and Tanzania (Juliana Lima Constantino et al.)

Growing knowledge and health: insights from India's Andhra Pradesh School Kitchen Garden Programmes (Abhijith Parameswaran)

Strategies to implement the Standardized Infant NeuroDevelopmental Assessment (SINDA), an excellent tool for global child health care professionals to detect infants at high risk of neurodevelopmental disorders (Roselin van der Torren-Klever et al.)

Questioning UNICEF’s population level index of severe physical punishment of children (John McLennan)

17:15

Social Impact Factory Room 4 Dublin

Track 1 and Track 6

Oral Abstract Presentations: Pandemic mitigation and responses (1)

A sending country’s response to migrant health during the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic: a case study from the Philippines (Renzo Guinto et al.)

Patient engagement in access to healthcare and essential health products in the Philippines in the era of universal health care and Covid-19: a multi-method case study (Renzo Guinto et al.)

Emergency preparedness and integrated surveillance potential of a rapid diagnostic for Covid-19 and TB at airport quarantine in Bangladesh (Farzana Zaman et al.)

Preventing the next pandemic through a planetary health approach in Africa (Taofeekat Adigun et al.)