Open in Browser     Swiss TPH News, February 2023   The Tuberculosis Pandemic – A Call to Action   Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the world’s deadliest diseases. Despite being a preventable and curable disease, 1.5 million people die from TB every year. To raise public awareness, strengthen the global response and drive policy change, we invite you to a symposium dedicated to TB research and advocacy at our new headquarters in Allschwil, Switzerland. Join biologists, clinicians, epidemiologists, TB-affected communities, policy-makers and programme facilitators to discuss the biology and burden of TB, diagnostics and drug development, policy issues, and health system strengthening and interventions. » Register now     Promising Antimalarial Drug Proves Ineffective at Saving Children’s Lives   A large-scale study by Swiss TPH and partners has found that rectal artesunate (RAS) has no beneficial effect on the survival of young children with severe malaria when used as an emergency treatment in resource-limited settings. The study concludes that the use of RAS is unlikely to reduce malaria deaths unless underlying health system weaknesses are addressed. A viewpoint about these findings was published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.   VIEWPOINT     Call for Enhanced Collaboration Between Human, Animal and Environmental Health   The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the weaknesses in global health security networks. Increased investment in a global ‘One Health’ approach is essential to prevent, monitor and respond to future public health emergencies. This is what authors of a series of four papers published in The Lancet highlight. Swiss TPH contributed with its extensive expertise in One Health.   ARTICLE     Symposium on Clinical Decision Support Systems   Swiss TPH hosted the hybrid symposium "Clinical Decision Support Systems - Features, Future and Fostering Collaboration" at its new headquarters on 8 February 2023, bringing together around 150 global experts and key drivers of CDSS development to share knowledge and expertise.   ARTICLE     The Pandemic Raises Maternal Mental Distress in Zambia   A study by Swiss TPH and partners has found that the COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in mental health problems among mothers in Zambia. The study highlights the need for public health interventions for vulnerable groups in low-resource settings. The findings were published in the journal PLOS One.   ARTICLE   Pascal Mäser, Head of the Parasite Chemotherapy Unit at Swiss TPH, has been appointed Full Professor in the Faculty of Science at the University of Basel. » Read more   Gillian Levine (Swiss TPH) and Julia Bielicki (University Children’s Hospital UKBB) won the Pfizer research award 2023 for their outstanding clinical research in paediatrics. » Read more   Researchers Astrid Knoblauch, Lorenz Hofer (both Swiss TPH) and Mgeni Tambwe (Ifakara Health Institute) received the Geigy Award 2022 for their outstanding achievements in the field of poverty-related and neglected tropical diseases. » Read more   Julia Bohlius, Head of the Department of Education and Training at Swiss TPH, was awarded the Dora Seif Cancer Research Price for her research into cancer in people living with HIV and cervical cancer. » Read more   • Helen Prytherch, Dragos Dobre, Daniella Majakari, Siddharth Srivastava, Patrick Delcroix, Damien Revault » Supporting countries on their path to universal health coverage   Project Updates   Biological Determinants and Epidemiological Consequences of Subclinical Tuberculosis   Swiss TPH, in collaboration with the Ifakara Health Institute and ETH Zurich, is leading a new research project funded by SNSF on the virulence-transmission trade-off in human tuberculosis (TB) caused by different phylogenetic lineages of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex (MTBC). The project aims to study subclinical TB, where patients excrete live TB bacilli but do not show symptoms, in the context of the trade-off and to understand the differences between "ancient" and "modern" MTBC lineages causing subclinical or active TB. » Read more about the project Public Health System Recovery Activity in Ukraine   Swiss TPH has been supporting the public health system in Ukraine since May 2022 as part of the Public Health Systems Recovery & Resilience Activity, led by Pact and funded by USAID. The large-scale project aims to strengthen the Ukrainian government's capacity to respond to public health shocks, maintain critical public health services in times of crisis, and expand psychological support to vulnerable, displaced civilians and public health workers. Swiss TPH is working in Ukraine with a team of eight staff members, focusing on building surveillance, response and other critical public health capacities. » Read more   Global Study of TB Treatments Enrols First Patient in Clinical Trial   The EU-funded DRTB-HDT project aims to improve treatment outcomes for patients with rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (RIF-R TB), a major global health concern. Current treatments for RIF-R TB have many drawbacks, including a low cure rate and permanent lung damage. The trial will enrol 330 patients with RIF-R TB and risk factors for poor outcome and randomly assign them to receive standard treatment plus one of two additional host-directed therapies. If successful, the study will result in new treatments that increase the chance of cure and reduce the risk of lifelong disability. » Read more about the DRTB-HDT project DYNAMIC Project: Drastic Reduction in Antibiotic Prescriptions   Preliminary results from a research trial show a dramatic reduction in antibiotic prescriptions from 70% to 25%, without affecting cure rates in children under 15. The Rwandan project partners have therefore decided to extend the project beyond the research period to allow for a one-year transition phase. During this phase, the DYNAMIC team will work closely with the Rwandan government to ensure sustainable access to the medical equipment and consumables needed for the project and to integrate the clinical decision support tool into the national digital ecosystem. » Read more about the DYNAMIC Study The Urban Burden of Disease Estimation for Policy Making   The Europe Horizon UBDPOLICY project aims to improve the assessment of health impacts and socio-economic costs and/or benefits of environmental stressors in almost 1,000 European cities. It will focus on air pollution, noise, temperature, lack of green space and physical activity, and examine the impact of gender and inequality. The aim is to have a system that will provide updates every three years to monitor progress and involve stakeholders, citizens and NGOs. » Read more   Swiss TPH in the Media   • Radio RTS: En direct de lʹInstitut tropical et de santé publique suisse » Radio broadcast   • THE PHILANTHROPIST: Die Stiftungsfinanzierung ermöglicht strategische Arbeiten. » Interview   • FAZ: Legionellen-Befall: Wenn die Dusche zur Gefahr wird » Article   Study with Us   Health Systems and Management   The Certificate of Advanced Studies in Health Systems and Management (CAS HSM) provides international participants with the skills to plan sustainable improvements in health systems, taking into account diverse cultural settings and social and ethical responsibilities. Participants will also acquire the ability to communicate and work professionally in a multidisciplinary environment, with an emphasis on practical application and interactive training. » Register now Health Economics and Health Financing   This short course introduces key health economic concepts such as public goods, externalities, and supply and demand as applied to health and the health sector. It covers health financing functions, financing systems, payment mechanisms, and the impact of health system organisation on financing. Participants will learn to critically discuss and exchange views on health financing and payment reforms. » Register now   Foundations of International Health Management   Covering the international building blocks of health, this short course examines health systems in a globalised world, and focuses on current managerial issues. Participants will be able to analyse changes that affect health, reflect on concepts and techniques, and apply a systems approach to health issues by working on case studies. » Register now   Field Malaria Course in Tanzania   The four-week postgraduate course aims to build capacity by strengthening the knowledge and skills of people involved in malaria patient care, control programmes or research, as well as improving time management, presentation and research proposal writing skills. The course is open to applicants from malaria-endemic African countries and will take place in Bagamoyo and Zanzibar from 1 to 26 May 2023. » Register now until 28 February 2023 People of Swiss TPH   Patricia Landeau Millan: “Completing my Masters here at Swiss TPH has allowed me to gain experience within the lab, with interesting and exciting research: As part of my master project, we’ve identified an early male gametocyte-specific protein which can help us further understand transmission stages of malaria.” » More on Instagram Latest Publications   • Schwarz J, Merten S. ‘The body is difficult’: reproductive navigation through sociality and corporeality in rural Burundi. Culture, Health & Sexuality » Read full article   • Lambiris MJ, Venga GN, Ssempala R et al. Health system readiness and the implementation of rectal artesunate for severe malaria in sub-Saharan Africa: an analysis of real-world costs and constraints. The Lancet Global Health. » Read full article   • Daubenberger C. Genetically modified malaria parasites as vaccine candidates. Trends in Molecular Medicine » Read full article       Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) Kreuzstrasse 2 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland communications@swisstph.ch Swiss TPH   Imprint | Data Privacy   If you do not wish to receive further newsletters, you can unsubscribe any time.