In Pullman Bangkok Hotel G, Bangkok
On June 10 and 11, 2024
Context and objectives:
Launched in late 2011, L’Initiative is a French facility that complements the investments of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. It aims to accelerate the fight against major pandemics and help countries improve access to high quality healthcare services. L’Initiative is implemented by Expertise France, the international technical cooperation agency, and financed by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, which oversees its activities.
L’Initiative’s recent evolution has demonstrated its catalytic effect through building the capacity of health professionals, including civil society and research organizations, improving institutional, political and social frameworks, supporting innovative approaches to respond to pandemics and strengthening systems for health. It operates through complementary modalities: the Expertise Channel to provide technical assistance, the Projects Channel to strengthen field interventions and operational research through additional funding, and finally L’Accélérateur to respond to neglected challenges, in particular human resources for health.
In Southeast Asia, the Global Fund’s investments have contributed to significant progress in reducing the incidence and mortality rates of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. However, challenges remain, including the need to address stigma and discrimination, ensure sustainable financing, and strengthen health systems to effectively respond to future health emergencies.
L’Initiative has been contributing to this global effort, by funding projects in the Greater-Mekong sub-region for more than 10 years now. This represents an investment of 50 million euros, for 37 projects on the 3 diseases, implemented by national programs, civil society organizations or research organizations.
Despite these results, countries in the region continue to face challenges with controlling the spread of these infectious diseases, but also other emerging diseases. The objective of the workshop is to discuss these progress and challenges, and to promote the results of the projects.
Our aim is to provide a forum for dialogue to create synergies between stakeholders in the region, and to better promote the knowledge generated by the activities supported by L’ Initiative in Southeast Asia. We will be welcoming project leaders, researchers and field workers supported by L’ Initiative, as well as key experts, to discuss regional issues linked to the fight against pandemics, with a view to strengthening local health systems and linking them to the One Health approach.
Program overview:
DAY 1
Session 1 – “Is it really over?” Discussing successes and limitations of the fight against the diseases, while paving the path to more integrated approaches.
- 8.00-8.30: Registration
- 8.30-8.50: Welcome Remarks, by the Ambassador of France in Thailand, the Ministry of Public Health of the Kingdom of Thailand, Expertise France and the Global Fund.
- 8.50-9.20: Key note speech: Priority public health issues in the Great-Mekong Sub-region: vision and experience sharing, by Dr Weerawat Manosuthi, Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health (Thailand) and Dr. Patrice Piola, MD (France)
- 9.20-10.30:
How to best tackle Tuberculosis in the region – why is the elephant still so big in the room?
At a time when diagnostic and therapeutic advances offer hope for the future, the countries of the Greater Mekong region are facing new challenges, and namely implementing strategies to prevent and treat latent tuberculosis, and adopting case-finding models that are both effective and affordable.
This session will shed light on two projects funded by L’Initiative, one in Vietnam and the other in Cambodia, focusing on latent tuberculosis management and case finding for lost cases. These presentations will be followed by a panel discussion bringing together representatives from research, civil society, and national programs.
- 10.30-11.00: Coffee break
- 11.00 – 12.15:
Malaria: sustaining and integrating efforts towards malaria elimination – what steps to prioritize next?
There has been undeniable progress in the fight against malaria in the subregion, particularly with the massive support of the Global Fund. However, this progress should not overshadow the major challenges that remain, particularly in the current geopolitical context, which could jeopardize these results. In a context of limited resources, competing agendas, and of the urgent need to improve preparedness and response to emerging diseases, some from the same ecosystem, how to sustain these efforts to achieve the elimination goal? What about the other two elephants in the room: P. vivax and P. knowlesi? What about integrated strategies for vector-borne diseases or within the same ecosystem?
The two interventions in this session will first aim to assess the current situation and outline strategies for the future, as well as present a holistic approach to addressing malaria and other diseases within the same ecosystem. They will be followed by a panel discussion bringing together speakers, technical partners, researchers, national programs, and representatives from civil society.
- 12.15-13.30: Lunch
- 13.30-14.45:
HIV: new prevention and care tools are not silver bullets.
Since 2010, the “prevention revolution”, with the arrival of Tasp and PrEP, have radically reshaped the fight against HIV. Treatments have also evolved, to become more forgiving. Nevertheless, new challenges arise: PrEP remain difficult to implement in the region, where key-populations are still highly stigmatized and sometimes reluctant to use the health system, and the most recent ARV show emergent resistances. In this particular context, it is urgent to explore new approaches to reach out and involve the most exposed communities, and offer them good quality prevention and care.
Through three interventions, this session will highlight the challenges in the sub-region regarding the implementation of injectable PreP, new community-based strategies to educate, test, care, and retain, and finally the emergence of resistance to dolutegravir in the sub-region.
- 14.45-15.15: Coffee break
- 15.15-16.30:
Community-based approaches among drug users: a model of prevention and care
Built by and for drug users on the basis of their own experience, self-support programs and peer education approaches have gradually taken on the scale to become real models of prevention and care, capable of adapt to new issues and new audiences and of inspire new public health programs among vulnerable groups. Through the presentation of several projects, demonstrating the efficacy of a community-based approach to control HIV, hepatitis, covid but also to improve the integration of mental health in the package of care, this session will will focus on how to extend the person-centered approach to other audiences and other health issues?
- 16.30-17.30: General discussion and wrap-up of Day 1
- 18.00: Cocktail
DAY 2
Session 2 – The Great Mekong region in transition: the turns not to be missed
- 8.30-9.45:
Shifting to the « One Health » approach? How to build upon the massive efforts and the successes in the fight against major communicable diseases in this region?
The One Health approach, which acknowledges the interconnection of human, animal, and environmental health, holds significant importance in the Greater Mekong Region. This integrated approach enables a better understanding and response to complex health challenges, particularly those related to communicable diseases. By adopting a holistic perspective, health programs can more effectively prevent and control both emerging and recurrent epidemics. Additionally, it’s imperative to bridge the One Health approach with existing efforts to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. By leveraging resources, expertise, and lessons learned from addressing these major diseases, an integrated approach can be developed to strengthen healthcare systems, enhance epidemiological surveillance, and promote community resilience against multiple health threats in the region.
This session will feature a talk about One Health: from a concept to a collective action, as well as perspectives and approaches from civil society organizations. The following panel discussion will provide an opportunity to exchange ideas about actionable integrated strategies.
- 9.45-10.15: Coffee break
- 10.15-12.00:
Health community workers: the centerpiece of a stronger and more integrated health system?
We all acknowledge the role of community health workers, whether it’s to emphasize their significance in delivering primary healthcare services closest to communities or because they appear to be the linchpin and answer to many strategies in the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, as well as in preparedness and response to emerging diseases, including in animal and environmental health. Consequently, their responsibilities and service packages seem to be expanding over the years. On one hand, we must underscore their pivotal role, as seen during the COVID crisis, while on the other hand, we need to question their integration and recognition by and within healthcare systems, their status, remuneration, training, and service package.. The objective of this session will be to modestly shed light on some of these challenges and to identify pathways for sustainable and integrated strategies.
- 12.00-12.30: Closing & take-home messages