The Acting PATTEC Coordinator, Dr Gift Wanda represented the PATTEC Coordination Office at the 3rd WHO Stakeholders’ Meeting on Gambiense Sleeping Sickness that was held at WHO Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland, 18 - 20 April, 2018. Participants to this meeting were drawn from sleeping sickness affected countries and NGOs, resource partners, academic and research institutions; and international organizations that are currently supporting the fight against sleeping sickness.

In his remarks, Dr. Wanda commended WHO for ensuring consistency and tangible outputs of the series of meetings since their inception four years ago and in particular welcomed the ever increasing recognition of vector control as a significant contributor towards the goal of eliminating gambiense sleeping sickness as a public health problem by 2020. He called for greater information sharing through the established national, regional and continental structures on success stories being registered by the various players in the sleeping sickness domain to enable PATTEC accurately brief the African Union Leadership on the same. He noted that information sharing on success stories is one of the key factors that can inspire greater investments in T&T interventions.

Statement by the PATTEC Coordination Office at the 3rd WHO Stakeholders’ Meeting on Gambiense HAT Held at WHO Headquarters, 18-20 April, 2018

As we participate at the 3rd WHO Stakeholders’ meeting on gambiense HAT, PATTEC wishes to commend WHO for ensuring consistency and tangible outputs of these series of meetings since their inception four years ago. PATTEC in particular welcomes the ever increasing recognition of vector control as a significant contributor towards the goal of eliminating gHAT as a public health problem by 2020. This is demonstrated by the growing intensity of vector control interventions being undertaken by various partners in gHAT hot spots or endemic areas.

With due recognition and respect for the mandates of various partners and institutions involved in gHAT elimination, we at PATTEC are in constant search for timely and up to date information on the success stories being registered by the various players so we can in turn accurately brief the African Union Leadership on the same. Governments and resource partners alike are demanding for success stories at many forums in recent times. We see this as one of the key factors that can inspire greater investments in T&T interventions. On this note, allow me to state that information sharing through the established national, regional and continental structures are just as important as the other institutional reporting requirements to which stakeholders are affiliated. This appeal for structured information sharing is consistent with our belief that all our efforts towards gHAT elimination are primarily in the interest of the affected African people.

In addition to our routine advocacy role among others, PATTEC will soon embark on the revision of its strategic plan. It is envisaged that lessons learned from the implementation of WHO strategy to eliminate sleeping sickness will constitute a valuable input to this process.

Lastly, just to inform the meeting that at the initiation of PATTEC and working through the African delegates to the General Session of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), an Ad Hoc Group on tsetse transmitted Animal African trypanosomosis has been established by OIE and has started its work to develop a chapter in the OIE terrestrial animal health code on the same.

I thank you for your attention