99% of People Who Have Chagas Disease Never Receive Treatment

More than 60 researchers and specialists from all over the world attended the seminar "Access to Health Care Services and Treatment for People with Chagas Disease" organised by the Chagas Disease Coalition and held on 7 March in CosmoCaixa in Barcelona. The participants discussed strategies for maximising the number of diagnoses of Chagas disease and for improving the access to treatment of those affected. Despite World Health Organisation estimates that around 10 million people in the world have Chagas disease, 99% of those infected have never received any medical treatment.

Speaking at the opening session, Pedro Alonso, director of the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, emphasised the need for treatment: "It is imperative that treatment be made a priority on the agenda, benznidazole—the main drug used to combat Chagas disease—has been shown to be effective, and the challenge now is to reach more patients and provide appropriate treatment". His was speaking to an audience that included leading researchers in the field as well as representatives of the health authorities of countries where the disease is endemic, the pharmaceutical industry and patient associations.

The experts indicated that the population in endemic areas may be unaware that they are infected. This led the representatives of the Coalition to highlight the need for to set up programmes for the diagnosis and treatment of Chagas disease that would be accessible to at-risk populations and to make clear their commitment to working with the health authorities in the different endemic countries to develop public policies.

"The Coalition should invite everyone to collaborate. This is an open process with the participation of leading scientists, the pharmaceutical industry, communities affected by the disease, and all the groups involved in the struggle against Chagas, of which we are one", concluded Silvia Gold, the president of Fundación Mundo Sano, in her closing address.

Chagas Disease Coalition

The aim of the Chagas Disease Coalition—an international alliance set up in 2013—is to unite the forces of all those involved in the struggle against Chagas disease, using an integrated approach and placing the needs of those affected high on the agenda. The partner institutions are the Fundación Mundo Sano, the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), the Sabin Vaccine Institute, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), and the Bolivian NGO Colectivo de Estudios Aplicados y Desarrollo Social (CEADES). The alliance also enjoys the support of Médicos Sin Fronteras (MSF, the Spanish section of Doctors without Borders), the International Federation of People Affected by Chagas Disease (FINDECHAGAS), and the Carlos Slim Health Institute.