30 November 2023 – Below we feature a compilation of headlines, scientific articles, and technical reports on innovations, R&D and elimination progress towards polio, malaria, onchocerciasis, and lymphatic filariasis. We will be publishing these updates bi-weekly and hope they are useful.

Vector Control

  • Simple soap solution could be a game-changer in the fight against malaria – Link | Link to Paper

Diagnostic testing and treatment

  • WHO releases priorities for research and development of age-appropriate medicines for treatment of neglected tropical diseases – Link
  • Diagnostic performance of ultrasensitive rapid diagnostic test for the detection of Plasmodium falciparum infections in asymptomatic individuals in Kisangani, Northeast Democratic Republic of Congo – Link
  • Paediatric drug optimization for neglected tropical diseases: meeting report, September 2023 – Link

Drug resistance

  • New approaches in the fight against drug resistance in malaria – Link | Link to Paper
  • Distribution of Plasmodium falciparum K13 gene polymorphisms across transmission settings in Ghana – Link
  • Culex quinquefasciatus and Culex tarsalis: report of a multi-centre laboratory study and WHO expert consultations – Link

Immunisation

  • Health Minister inaugurates third nationwide polio drive of 2023 – Link
  • First Malaria vaccines arrive in Cameroon – Link
  • Shipments to African countries herald final steps toward broader vaccination against malaria – Link
  • RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine pilot implementation in western Kenya: a qualitative longitudinal study to understand immunisation barriers and optimise uptake – Link

Surveillance

  • The use of solar power in the fight to end Polio – Link 

Elimination progress

  • Uniting Efforts to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases in Zimbabwe – Link
  • Ghana to Eliminate NTDs By 2030 – Dr Chrysantus Kubio – Link
  • Polio is on the brink of eradication. Here’s how to keep it from coming back – Link

Climate and Health

  • Climate and health strategies must take vaccination into account – Link
  • Communiqué on climate change, neglected tropical diseases and malaria – Link
  • Pakistan’s fight to end polio amid the climate crisis – Link
  • Health needs to be front and centre of national plans to fight climate change – Link
  • Opinion: How the climate-health connection shapes global development – Link 
  • Global health community calls for urgent action on climate and health at COP28 – Link
  • Impact of climate change on tropical diseases to be studied – Link
  • Global Fund Board Hails Recovery in Fight Against HIV, TB and Malaria After COVID-19 Setbacks, Commits to Strengthen Investments in Climate-Resilient Health Systems – Link
  • Lancet Countdown report calls for climate-driven health action – Link

Other

  • Ebere Okereke: driving the new public health order in Africa – Link
  • Assessing risk factors for malaria and schistosomiasis among children in Misungwi, Tanzania, an area of co-endemicity: A mixed methods study – Link
  • UNICEF Guinea Humanitarian Situation Report No. 2 (Polio Response) and Factsheet, 15 November 2023 – Link
  • Systematic review of sporozoite infection rate of Anopheles mosquitoes in Ethiopia, 2001–2021 – Link
  • Malaria: two groundbreaking vaccines have been developed, but access and rollout are still big stumbling blocks – Link
  • WHO releases priorities for research and development of age-appropriate medicines for treatment of neglected tropical diseases – Link
  • “Whenever I tell her to wear slippers, she turns a deaf ear. She never listens”: a qualitative descriptive research on the barriers to basic lymphedema management and quality of life in lymphatic filariasis patients in a rural block of eastern India – Link
  • Gates Foundation awards the Malaria Atlas Project $16 million – Link
  • FCTA begins 2023 integrated polio immunisation – Link
  • Non-adherence to ivermectin in onchocerciasis-endemic communities with persistent infection in the Bono Region of Ghana: a mixed-methods study – Link
  • The Global Fund Welcomes the Anne and Chris Flowers Foundation’s Contribution for Cross-border Malaria Elimination in Southern Africa – Link

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