Dear SuSanA colleagues!

Please find below the link to the output from our past conference:

ISNTD Water 2014 (Brunei Gallery, London, June 2014)
Water, Sanitation and Global Health

www.isntd.org/login/4565690894?noRedirec...ater-home/4587178220


More than just a conference report, you will find in our "ISNTD Research Hub" some core presentations and interviews both from the infectious diseases and WASH communities - completely open access and please do spread the word!

Also, we are planning our forthcoming ISNTD Water 2015 with a focus on urbanisation in the developing world and the challenges posed in terms of sustainable sanitation, safe water, the frontiers with the environment and global public health. Keep in touch with our newsletter - www.isntd.org!

Dear Christian,

In your conference feedback post about the conference organised by The International Society for Neglected Tropical Diseases (ISNTD) you had written:

ISNTD will upload presentations and video documentation soon on their webpage.

I just checked but couldn't find them. Am I looking in the wrong place? Have you found them? If not could you, as a conference participant, please drop them a line and ask about this? Thanks.

The reason why I am asking now is because I thought I could find some additional well-presented information to include in the Wikipedia article on Neglected Tropical Diseases (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neglected_tropical_diseases) or here in the NTD section on the helminthiasis page:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helminthiasis#Neglected_tropical_diseases

That Wikipedia page on NTDs was actually very good already (I just had to strengthen the link to sanitation in a few places).

Interestingly, I think a large part of it was set up by a student who wrote on the Talk page in February of this year:

I am an undergraduate student at Rice University in Houston, TX and am planning on editing this article as part of a Poverty, Justice, and Human Capabilities class. I would like to expand this article and add more information about the specific diseases and their sociological impact. I will try to address the “to do” list goals. I am also considering combining this page with the “Neglected tropical disease research and development” article. Does this seem like a good idea? I think there is a lot of information about neglected tropical diseases, but I don’t think that splitting the topic in two makes sense since both articles are missing a lot of important information. I plan on using scholarly articles as my sources.

By the way, not all the helminth infections are classified as neglected tropical diseaeses. One day I want to get hold of an NTD expert (maybe one of the presenters at this conference?) and ask them why not. Only these ones are in the NTD group of diseases:

The list of diseases that officially belongs to the neglected tropical diseases has been defined differently by different organisations. Only the following types of helminthiasis are usually included in the list (together with other types of diseases):[2]

• All soil-transmitted helminthiasis (the three major infection types in this group are ascariasis (roundworms), trichuriasis (whipworm), and strongyloidiasis[2])
• Helminths transmitted via water: schistosomiasis and dracunculiasis (Guinea Worm Disease)
• Helminths transmitted via meat such as pork or beef: cysticercosis and taeniasis
• Helminths transmitted via animal faeces and contact with infected animals: echinococcosis
• Helminths transmitted via raw watercress or other water plants: fascioliasis

(source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helminthiasis#Neglected_tropical_disease)

Regards,
Elisabeth

Thanks a lot for this conference re-cap, Christian, much appreciated!
It would be awesome if after each conference or event someone who participated (or even several people) writes a forum post about the event with their personal impressions.

You mentioned a link to the agenda but I didn't see one in your post - but I think you meant this one:
www.isntdwater.com/#/programme/4582466315

I have moved this thread from the event category into the health category now, as it's now also about content, not just about the event.

Greetings,
Elisabeth

Dear SuSanA members,

I want to quickly recap the “ISNTD water” conference in London where I participated. The International Society for Neglected Tropical Diseases (ISNTD), founded 3 years ago, has attracted a wide range of international experts from the field of health and WASH. Naturally the majority of participants came from UK organisations like the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (Prof. Sandy Cairncross and Dr. Val Curtis), DIFD, Unilever and WaterAid. Moreover US partners attended like Dr. Carl Hensmann from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Purdue University and Coca Cola. It was a good opportunity to bring experts from both sectors in touch with each other.

It was generally about understanding that a range of NTDs like Soil-transmitted helminths, trachoma or schistosomiasis can be effectively addressed by both medical care and preventive measures via WASH and thus cutting off exposure pathways of pathogens. However empirical research on most effective WASH programming, especially on how to change behavior for hygiene practices or use of innovative technologies remains often unclear and requires more research. There was a widely pronounced sentiment that the software as compared to the hardware is the hardest nut to crack (no surprise). Innovation in technology is equally important, but it requires products and services to be developed with users on the ground and not only in labs.

There were lively panel discussions after every thematic bloc. Interesting in my point of view was the discussion about the private sector involvement. Customer goods companies like Unilever and also beverage companies like Coca-Cola, who presented, have gained immense wealth of data and learnings through their CSR and other funding work. It was acknowledged that not only the money is of value to the WASH sector but that the private sector has extended knowledge, expertise and positive drive to benefit from. Customer Goods companies for example know very well how to change behaviours of customers through their marketing, customer responses and market research e.g. for use of soap or detergents. How to get in touch with these guys? Pick up the phone and get talking as Dr. Analia Mendez from Unilever said

Moreover there was a great emphasis on improving intersectoral coorperation, not working in silos as this has clearly slowed down development. The health and education sector just to name a few have overlaps like data collection, impact measurements and health/hygiene services. The private sector at least does not seem to suffer from silo thinking and works on broader agendas and interdisciplinary teams.

See below the link to the agenda for more info. ISNTD will upload presentations and video documentation soon on their webpage.

Cheers
Christian

Dear Forum Users,

There will be a conference on Neglected Tropical Diseases in London on Thursday, June 19th. The SuSanA Secretariat will be represented there with a booth. Does anyone here plan to go? Please tell us!

Neglected Tropical Diseases are a group of around 17 diseases which affect over 1.4 billion individuals worldwide, most of which are amongst the poorest and most vulnerable and live in areas with inadequate water and sanitation provision. The lack of such facilities not only imposes an immense burden on those individuals directly, but also provides a breeding ground for the numerous diseases which continue to further afflict these communities.

Improvement in water and sanitation provision can make the most important contribution towards better health by breaking transmission cycles, eradicating the breeding grounds for dangerous pathogens and providing the opportunity for overall economic and social development.

Session 1: Water, sanitation & hygiene (WASH) programmes for NTDs and public health: impact, equity and challenges

[ Session 2: ] Technology focus Innovative Water & Sanitation

Session 3: Infrastructure development/financing & role of private sector in water and sanitation

Session 4: Water-related emergencies & outbreaks (including cholera)

For more information, please check the website: www.isntdwater.com/#/programme/4582466315 and the program pdf attached




[posted by Sebastian Klos]

Hi Krischan,

Thank you for your suggestion! I will update that now.
Best regards,
Marianne

I think you will get more responses if you don't ask people to go through the extra effort to request the questionnaire form from you first.

Dear colleagues,

Ahead of our forthcoming conference on sanitation/water/hygiene and global public health, we are hoping to collect thoughts from organisations involved in the operational delivery of sanitation, water, hygiene as well as those involved in NTD/tropical health programmes and have compiled the ISNTD Water WASH & NTDs questionnaire.

We would be immensely grateful if your organisation might be able to contribute some thoughts via this questionnaire (attached below) and return by Friday June 13th - alternatively email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for the form.

Although the individual responses will be amalgamated to obtain an overview of the fields, we will ensure that all contributors are clearly credited at the end of the report. This will be made available not only on the day of the conference but also throughout our global networks of members and partners worldwide.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch if I can provide any further information and many thanks for the whole team for your continued support!

ISNTD Water
June 19th 2014
Brunei Gallery London
www.isntdwater.com

With best regards,
Marianne

Marianne Comparet
International Society for Neglected Tropical Diseases
www.isntd.org
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Two weeks left until the International Society for Neglected Tropical Diseases conference on water, sanitation & hygiene and global health!

ISNTD Water, June 19th 2014, Brunei Gallery London, www.isntdwater.com

Among the confirmed participants:
- The Gates Foundation
- WHO/Unicef
- Veolia Water / Veolia Environment Foundation
- Oxfam
- WaterAid
- Save the Children
- Operation WellFound
- Coca-Cola
- Unilever
- Vergnet Hydro Pump Technologies
- Just a Drop
- DFID
- Drop 4 Drop
- GIS for water/wastewater management
- Butyl Products
- research scientists / academic consortiums
- government (UK & foreign)
- centres for water research including WEDC, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine...
- product/software developers
- philanthropy & donor organisations
- Medair and numerous other NGOs
- international press

Full programme: www.isntdwater.com/#/programme/4582466315

We currently have significantly reduced registration fees for academics / NGOs / social enterprises - direct link to registration: www.isntdwater.com/#/registration/4576689922

The day is organised to maximise multi-disciplinary collaborations and to increase the visibility and funding potential of implementation & research partners such as yourselves and is an opportunity not only to significantly develop collaborations and funding opportunities with a wide spectrum of partners from the private and public sectors worldwide as well as some major funders, but also is a chance to maintain your position as a policy shaper in water for development.

We look forward to welcoming you!

Marianne Comparet
ISNTD Director
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