The IGORCADIA project continues to advance in Monrovia, with St. Joseph Catholic Hospital (SCH) as the epicenter of its activities. Highlighting the event were five hands-on workshops with 15 participants to strengthen quantitative and social research capacities on novel diagnostics for infectious diseases such as malaria.
The diplomas were presented by Dr. Chaterine Cooper, Assistant Minister for Curative Services at the Ministry of Health, who praised the efforts made by the five HCSJ members who participated, and the ten attendees from the Liberian Medicines Regulatory Authority (LMHRA), as it represents an enhancement of their research capabilities, which could benefit the country's healthcare system in the future.
Dr. Chaterine Cooper, representative of the Liberian Ministry of Health, first from the right in the bottom row, after the presentation of diplomas at the graduation ceremony held at LMHRA, Monrovia, in August 2019 as part of the IGORCADIA project.
These workshops are part of the Diagnostic Research Training Program, one of the activities of IGORCADIA, a project coordinated by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) with the participation of the HCSJ, LMHRA, and Juan Ciudad NGO. It also has the support of the European Development Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), backed by Horizon 2020, the European Union's Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.
Cristina Muñoz, project coordinator in Monrovia, explained that although the availability of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for malaria in recent years has significantly facilitated access to malaria diagnostics, reaching 631 TP3T of the tests performed in Africa in 2016, "there are malaria parasites that 'suppress' the protein detected by these RDTs, which can lead to delayed or untreated treatment for infected individuals."
Cristina Muñoz, coordinator of the IGORCADIA project in Monrovia, in 2019 at the laboratory of St. Joseph Catholic Hospital.
In fact, given the increasing number of false negatives from RTD, the World Health Organization (WHO) deemed it necessary to monitor parasites lacking the Pfhrp2 gene. Therefore, Cristina explains that, among other objectives of IGORCADIA, "our research exercise seeks to quantify the presence of Pfhrp2 and Pfhrp3 deletions in P. falciparum isolates from people with fever or a history of fever in the previous 24 hours, as well as from pregnant women at their first prenatal visit."
In addition to this line of research, the project's primary objective is to improve LMHRA's governance and develop its research capabilities in infectious disease diagnostics. This need became evident after the 2013-2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa and motivated the successful launch of SELeCT in 2016, laying the foundation for IGORCADIA, which launched in 2017 and hopes to collaborate in improving the health of the Liberian population in the medium term.
Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between HCSJ and LMHRA in June in Monrovia.
At the end of June, Brother Peter L. Dawoh, director of St. Joseph's Hospital in Monrovia (first from the right in the photo above), signed a Memorandum of Understanding with David Sumo, director of the LMHRA (first from the left). The document establishes the roles and responsibilities of these two entities, thus reinforcing their collaboration and commitment to promoting and improving research, with the laboratory at the Hospitaller Order's hospital being a key component.
On the other hand, that month also saw several conferences on the importance of data and its management in research projects, with the participation of Xisco Muñoz as project technician for Juan Ciudad ONGD, and Alfredo Mayor, principal investigator of the IGORCADIA project.
Xisco Muñoz during his talk on the importance of data management in projects at San José Catholic Hospital in June 2019.
Liberia is a West African country with a population of nearly five million, of whom 411 million are under the age of 15, and only 171 million have adequate sanitation, according to data from the report published in Mundo Negro's 2019 Africa Special.
In the healthcare sector, Liberia currently faces significant challenges and shortcomings. For example, it has 0.02 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants, compared to 3.9 doctors for the same proportion in Spain, according to World Bank data.
Regarding maternal mortality, Liberia has one of the highest rates in the world, reaching 725 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to 5 in Spain. Infant mortality stands at 67.4 children who die before reaching age 5 per 1,000 live births, which is 20 times higher than in Spain, according to WHO data.
Children in the Kew Kru Town neighborhood of Monrovia, where the St. John of God Clinic, part of St. Joseph Catholic Hospital, is located.
The HCSJ has 100 beds and nearly 170 staff, 120 of whom are healthcare personnel, including eight physicians. The main causes of mortality are stroke, anemia, hypertension, neonatal sepsis, pneumonia, HIV, malaria, HIV, and hepatitis B.
During the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, the hospital's operations were interrupted, but they have been gradually recovering since 2015, having been closed for a few months in 2014. It currently has more than 3,500 admissions per year and nearly 23,000 people seen in consultations, according to its 2017 Annual Report.
Meeting at the Juan Ciudad NGO headquarters on the IGORCADIA project in April 2019 in Madrid. From left to right: Xisco Muñoz (JCONGD project technician), Alfredo Mayor (IGORCADIA principal investigator), Ana Meyer (JCONGD project coordinator), and Gonzalo Sales (JCONGD director).
To learn more:
IGORCADIA:
Liberia WHO:
https://www.who.int/countries/lbr/en
Text: Adriana Castro Terán, Head of Communications at Juan Ciudad NGO in Madrid.
Source: Cristina Muñoz, IGORCADIA project coordinator in Monrovia.
More information: www.igorcadia.org
Project: Improving the governance and research capacity of the Liberia Drug and Health Products Regulatory Authority (IGORCADIA) in infectious disease diagnostics.
Project: Improved Governance and Research Capacities in Diagnostics for Infectious Diseases of the Liberian Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Authority
