Date(s)

16 May 2025

Location

Windhoek, Namibia

Meeting type

In-Person Meeting

1st Conference on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) 2025

General

We are pleased to announce the 1st edition of the Conference on Neglected Tropical Diseases, scheduled to take place on 16 May 2025 in Windhoek, Namibia, as an in-person meeting.

Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) affect more than 1 billion people, with a disproportionally high disease burden in children and women. NTDs are prevalent in impoverished regions and hard-to-reach communities, thus their control requires an integrated and cross-cutting approach to tackle associated structural and socio-economic challenges.

The abstract-driven conference proposes a platform to disseminate new advancements, real-world data, implementation challenges, and novel governing models to discuss and generate solutions for cross-cutting topics and ultimately reduce the disease burden and societal impact of NTDs.This proposal supports the progress in foundational pillars of the WHO Roadmap by facilitating evidence-based program implementation, leveraging the cross-cutting approach, and providing a forum to discuss a paradigm shift toward country ownership of elimination programs.

The program will consist of invited lectures, oral abstract & poster presentations, a debate, skill-building sessions, panel discussions, and sponsored symposia.

On behalf of the Organizing Committee

Who Should Attend?

• Epidemiologists and public health experts

• Program implementers

• Clinical, translational, and basic researchers

• Residents, post-graduates, and PhD students

• (Non)Government representatives

• Health authority personnel

• Industry representatives

• Advocates and community workers

Meeting Objectives

Our goal is to facilitate scientific interchange in endemic regions for NTDs reflecting epidemiological patterns, accessible monitoring, preventive and therapeutic options, and health system capacities with an end goal to increase capacity and reduce the disease burden. More specifically, the program is aimed to:

- Create a dissemination platform for an unbiased and scientific knowledge exchange regarding the public health approaches to control neglected tropical diseases.

- Share real-world experience and facilitate evidence-based program implementation.

- Synthesize knowledge and leverage technology, infrastructure, and expertise utilized to successfully control NTDs or respond to other communicable diseases.

- Foster new and lasting cross-disciplinary and cross-cutting collaborations, with the end goal of strengthening response and epidemic preparedness.

- Encourage early-career investigators to actively participate in the program and support their career trajectory toward future leaders in the field.

Learning Objectives

After participating in this activity, participants will be able to:

-Stimulate research in endemic regions and consolidating the position of the NTDs in regional and global research agendas;

-Provide a dissemination platform to share success and challenges in program implementation, thereby facilitating evidence-based policymaking;

-Create a cross-cutting forum to facilitate collaborative, multistakeholder solutions;

-Shape the research community and fostering the scientific maturation of future leaders.

Practical Information

Venue

Venue will be soon announced.

Accommodation

Accommodation is not included in the registration fee.

Badges

All participants are requested to wear the badge at all times during the conference to ensure admission to the meeting.

Certificate of Attendance

A certificate of attendance will be sent to you after successfully completing the program and post-meeting survey.

Language

The official language of the conference is English.

Enduring Materials

Conference materials can be obtained upon registration at the registration desk at the Conference Venue.

Disclaimer

This conference is intended for educational purposes only and aims to offer participants the opportunity to share information. The Organizing Secretariat of this event, Virology Education, cannot accept any liability for the scientific content of the sessions or for any claims which may result from the use of information or publications from this meeting. Virology Education disclaims all liability for injuries or losses of whatever nature incurred by individuals attending the conference.

Liability and Insurance

By registering for the conference participants agree that the organizers do not accept responsibility for medical-, travel- or personal insurance. Participants are advised to take out their own insurance policies.

Photographs, Audio, and Video Recording

Photographs, audio, and video recordings are not permitted at the official meeting sessions. Only the official medical writer appointed by the organization may make recordings. All presentations will be posted here as soon as possible after the workshop is finished, provided the speaker has given permission to do so.

Code of Conduct

All attendees, speakers, co-organizers, partners, endorsers, suppliers, volunteers, and employees at any of our programs are expected to observe our Code of Conduct. We cannot tolerate any form of discrimination, harassment, disrespect, or the marginalization of those involved in our programs. All participants of VE and AME-organized programs are expected to treat others with dignity and respect at all times.

Any individual who feels discriminated against, harassed, disrespected, or marginalized is encouraged to report the incident(s) to VE and AME via info@amededu.com or to one of our on-site personnel.
Any participant who is found to have exhibited any inappropriate conduct or behavior against others may be removed from the program.

Program

Preliminary Program

The program of the conference is currently under development.

The below times are set in Central Africa Time (CAT). Please, use this tool to convert the timing into your time zone.

Friday, 16 May 2024

Opening & Welcome - 14:30

14:30

Opening Words

14:40

Opening Lecture: When Epidemics Collide - NTD & HIV

Lucille H Blumberg, MB, BCH, MMed (Clin Micro), ID (SA), FFTM (RCP Glasgow), DTM&H, DOH, DCH, D.Sc.

National Institute for Communicable Diseases / Right to Care, South Africa

Session 1: NTD Today and Tomorrow - 15:10