🧪 We want to make sure that when the next pandemic hits, lifesaving treatments are accessible to everyone, and not just to those who can afford them. That’s why we’re partnering with the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI) with the support of the Novo Nordisk Foundation to develop effective, affordable and globally accessible antiviral medicines for respiratory viruses of pandemic potential, such as influenza. 🎥 Watch this great explainer video from Novo Nordisk Foundation, featuring two DNDi colleagues: Shikha Taneja Malik, Senior Scientific Affairs Manager, and Peter Sjö, Head of Drug Discovery Programme, to learn more about how this partnership is accelerating antiviral drug discovery for global health. Thanks a lot to our partners! #GlobalHealth #DrugDiscovery #PandemicPreparedness (fb)

🎉 Kala-azar: Nearing elimination! A deadly disease that once devastated communities across South Asia, kala-azar or visceral leishmaniasis, is now on the verge of elimination, a milestone shaped by two decades of regional commitment, research, and innovation. On the sidelines of the 78th Session of the WHO SEARO Regional Committee meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka, we co-hosted a high-level side event with the Government of India, Government of Nepal (GoN), World Health Organization South-East Asia Regional Office, and Gates Foundation India to mark 20 years of the Regional Kala-azar Elimination Initiative. 🔬 We are proud to support the initiative through research, innovation and strong partnerships. By bringing together a consortium of partners, we identified the most effective combination therapies for South Asia, achieving cure rates above 95% and replacing older treatments with severe side effects or poor efficacy due to drug resistance. Our trials provided key evidence that informed regional policy change, making treatment simpler, safer, and more accessible, and bringing care closer to communities. Health leaders from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka joined researchers, policymakers, and partners for this side event. Together, they reflected on two decades of progress and explored how lessons from the kala-azar elimination initiative can guide multi-disease elimination across South-East Asia. The discussion highlighted: 👉 How regional collaboration, political commitment, scientific innovations, national ownership, and community engagement have driven progress towards elimination. 👉 The importance of continued integrated surveillance, capacity building for healthcare professionals, and donor collaboration and programme integration is clear. These efforts offer a blueprint for eliminating other neglected diseases. #RC78 World Health Organization South-East Asia Region - WHO SEARO | World Health Organization (WHO) | PATH India | Gates Foundation India | Gates Foundation | Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office | Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières | Ministry of Health and Population-Nepal | Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (fb)