Consultation Meeting on a Trust Fund for the Prevention, Control and Elimination of Neglected and Other Infectious Diseases in Latin America and the Caribbean

(Washington, DC, 15–16 December 2008)

This forum, held at PAHO headquarters and in joint partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) Control, discussed the establishment of a trust fund as an innovative partnership model that would seek to pool public and private resources, as well as individual philanthropists and other benefactors, to support cost-effective neglected infectious disease (NID) prevention, control and elimination efforts, as well as to reduce inequities in health by serving the poorest of the poor in the Region, in full collaboration with the countries, partners and stakeholders.

The forum also discussed the feasibility of a comprehensive approach to combating neglected infectious diseases supporting a combination of interventions including preventive chemotherapy, technical cooperation to improve health information systems, and disease control and elimination programs, liaising with other sectors towards integrated vector management and disease prevention.

The forum considered four major areas of discussion:

• Setting burden and opportunities for NIDs in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
• Scaling-up for NID elimination and control in LAC.
• The trust fund architecture and operations.
• Implementing solutions via the trust fund.

 Download final report (124 pp) | Reference: Director's speech on topic

Read on for brief description, followed by key findings and critical issues that emerged during the meeting are summarized below in relation to these four areas. The full report includes a fifth chapter entitled “Pertinence of Proposed Trust Fund” that documents institutional and programmatic strengths and challenges in the six countries represented in the meeting.