Seminar on the Neglected Tropical Diseases to be held in Rome on 23 November
19/11/2009
The seminar entitled, “Neglected Tropical Diseases: Addressing the Problem and Identifying Opportunities,” is to be held in Rome on Monday, 23 November, at the Foreign Ministry. It is being organised by the Directorate General for Development Aid (DGCS) in conjunction with the Prime Ministerial National Committee on Biosecurity, Biotechnology and the Life Sciences ( CNBBSV). The event is part of the G8 Health Experts Group programme under the Italian duty Presidency.
An enormous number of men, women and children in the developing countries suffer from the neglected tropical diseases, and the death rate is constantly rising. These 13 infectious diseases, widespread in 149 countries, cause an average of over half a million deaths every year, a figure that could be greatly reduced by the appropriate use of low-cost drugs and, at the same time, by funding pharmaceutical research. Indeed, less than 1% of the new drugs registered over the last 20 years has been developed to treat the tropical diseases.
The seminar provides an opportunity to discuss and explore in depth the solutions that might be adopted to counter the devastating impact of these diseases, with contributions from representatives from the World Health Organisation, the international scientific and academic world, public and private donors, the Italian pharmaceutical industry, the non-governmental organisations, the Italian Health Ministry and the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Higher National Health Institute).
In addition to the G8 Global Health Experts – who will be meeting in Rome at the same time to bring their work under the Italian presidency to its conclusion –, the following will be attending the seminar and delivering papers: CNBBSV Chair Prof. Leonardo Santi; Dr. Lorenzo Savioli, head of the Department of Neglected Tropical Disease Control at the WHO; Prof. Francesco Castelli from the University of Brescia’s Institute of Infectious and Tropical Diseases; Dr. Putoto from NGO CUAMM (University College for Future Missionary Doctors), Medici con l’Africa; Industria 2015 Project Manager Dr. Claudio Cavazza and Prof. Phillip Gomez of the Pittsburgh University Medical Center.
Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Special Advisor to the United Nations secretary general on the Millennium Development Goals, will also be speaking in a video message on the importance of meeting the Millennium Goals before 2015 is out.
