The theme of the 2021 Canadian Conference on Global Health (CCGH) was ‘Rethinking Partnership Paradigms in Global Health,” a timely and impactful topic that centered on themes of compassion, equity, and fairness. Mirroring the spirit of partnership, the conference was co-chaired by a collaborative effort between Dr. Margaret Gyapong of the University of Health and Allied Services in Ho, Ghana and Dr. Alison Krentel of the University of Ottawa and Bruyère Research Institute in Ottawa. Long-time friends and colleagues, the co-chairs led this year’s CCGH with a spirit of both open-mindedness and reflection.
These themes of partnership, collaboration, compassion, and equity resonated strongly with iCHORDS members who were in attendance at the CCGH. Below are four conference highlights that we found to be particularly salient to our work in NTDs:
Lesson 1: Fairness in partnerships
Partnerships are critical to progress in NTD research, treatment, and programme delivery. In rethinking global health, attention to partnership fairness in terms of contract development, local hiring and sourcing, data ownership, and the like will be critical to approach collectively and transparently. Several tools were introduced at the conference for assessing partnership fairness and equitable practices, including the Research Fairness Initiative.
The WHO’s TDR published their report on partnership fairness in 2018. Check out the latest episode of the iCHORDS’ The Last Mile Podcast to learn more about the Research Fairness Initiative from Dr. Jim Lavery.
Lesson 2: One Health and NTDs
The One Health High Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP) states that One Health is “an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems.” Central to this approach is the idea of multi-sectoral collaboration, communication, capacity building, and coordination to foster well-being and tackle threats to health and ecosystems. The neglected tropical disease research community should adopt the One Health approach more broadly given the intimate link between humans, the environment, and animals, especially with around 50% of NTDs having a zoonotic component to their life cycle. The One Health approach can provide a holistic framework to reduce the debilitating effects and global burden caused by NTDs. To do this, we must educate ourselves and others on this approach and collaborate across all levels of society, sectors, and disciplines to achieve our goals.
Lesson 3: The role of youth and young professionals
Youth and early career professionals are powerful leaders and advocates within the neglected tropical disease community. We must include them in our conversations and efforts to control and eliminate NTDs. Given that over 1.7 billion people are at risk of NTDs, and 1 billion at-risk individuals are below the age of 15, the youth have unique experiences and knowledge that can and should be incorporated into program planning, co-design approaches, and evaluation. As Dr. Thoko Elphick-Pooley noted in a plenary on accounting for power and privilege in partnerships, “Young people are a vital component to raising awareness about these devastating diseases to communities everywhere… their creativity and influence online and offline is unparalleled.”
Lesson 4: Measuring success
A shift in how success is measured and defined is needed. Because donor-led indicators and metrics are used by programs, crucial information from communities is often missed, or data on the outcomes most important to communities is not collected. As such, communities should define success in projects, with partners supporting their priorities and objectives and amplifying solutions that are already present inside the communities.
Here’s the Guide to Improving MDA Using Qualitative Methods, a guide on using qualitative methods to strengthen equity of MDA for NTD programs.
Conclusion:
Fairness in partnerships, advocating for a One Health approach, including youth and young professionals, and shifting the way we measure success are tangible things we can do to improve our practice and benefit the communities that we serve. In 2022, let us all reflect on current practices and identify areas where these lessons can be implemented. The 2021 Canadian Conference on Global Health was a collaborative forum to rethink partnerships in global health. The hybrid nature of the conference allowed for diverse participation from all corners of the world. We are looking forward to the 2022 conference!
