Ana Meyer, head of cooperation projects at JCONGD, tells us how the research project is developing to strengthen the laboratory capabilities of St. Joseph's Hospital in Monrovia (Liberia), and to be able to conduct clinical trials on infectious diseases. This project has been underway for a year in a consortium between the hospital, JCONGD, and ISGlobal.
How did this project come about?
We first contacted ISGlobal in late 2015, during the reopening of St. Joseph's Catholic Hospital in Monrovia during the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. IsGlobal's experience in research, training, and medical care was then (and remains today) of particular interest to Saint Joseph's Catholic Hospital's medium-term objectives, particularly with a view to resuming normal operations after the health crisis.
How is the project financed?
Leveraging IsGlobal's track record in managing European-funded research projects, the three organizations agreed to submit a consortium initiative to the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP Grants), a European entity whose objective is to fund research projects for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, and Ebola. The submitted project, called SELeCT "Strengthening Laboratory Capacities in St. Joseph's Catholic Hospital (Monrovia) for Clinical Trials on Infectious Diseases," began implementation in early 2016.
What does it consist of?
The SELeCT project focuses on training Saint Joseph staff in good clinical and laboratory practices and on working with the communities surrounding the hospital to educate the public on the fundamentals of research and encourage their participation in future projects in this field.
The initiative is also complemented by the acquisition of specific equipment to ensure that the hospital's laboratory meets the technical quality and safety requirements required for clinical research. The ultimate goal is for Saint Joseph's Catholic Hospital and its healthcare staff to be considered sufficiently qualified and officially recognized to conduct clinical trials in Liberia.
Why is it important to train in research?
Research directly influences the well-being of the population to the extent that its results can be translated into national health policies. Liberia has many health care needs, and the provision of services is inequitable, inefficient, and of poor quality.
There are still numerous prevalent diseases affecting the population, such as malaria, typhoid fever, and HIV. Deaths from preventable causes remain high. After two civil wars and the Ebola crisis, external support to strengthen the health system has become even more necessary.
With projects like the one we're carrying out, we're strengthening the country's healthcare professionals and, on the other, raising awareness among the population about the importance of research in improving quality of life and life expectancy.
What impact could the project have on the rest of Africa?
This project also aims to enable Saint Joseph's Catholic Hospital to establish scientific partnerships with other African institutions. In this regard, last November 2016, the Hospital had the opportunity to participate in the 8th EDCTP Conference in Lusaka, Zambia, entitled "Overcoming Neglected Poverty-Related Diseases in Africa: Using Research for Evidence-Based Policy." At this meeting, Saint Joseph's Nursing Supervisor, Christine KT Attia, presented the attendees with the work carried out thus far with the SELeCT project.
What is the future outlook?
The project is scheduled to last 18 months, but work is already underway to continue it and build on the progress made so far. EDCTP is issuing a new call for proposals this year, and a proposal has been submitted to continue the project, this time in coordination with the Liberian Medical and Health Regulatory Authorities (LMHRA).
Furthermore, on February 6, the project's scientific coordinator, Guillermo MartĂnez, will travel to Ghana with the head nurse at Saint Joseph Hospital to teach a seminar on good clinical practices to the staff of the Brothers of St. John of God's three centers in the country. This initiative is novel, as the possibility of exchanging knowledge acquired through cooperative projects between the Brothers' hospitals and clinics in Africa had not previously been considered.
How is the community reacting to the project?
We're observing that community outreach is the most challenging component of the project. Engaging local leaders, communicating knowledge in the appropriate language, and gaining community buy-in is a task that requires considerable effort and, in most cases, fails to yield positive results.
Research is a topic that generates a certain amount of mistrust and about which almost nothing is known in Liberia. The main objective is for the community to understand the benefits that clinical trials bring to society and for them to feel safe participating in them. To achieve this, the relationship between the Hospital and the surrounding population must be strengthened. The community must feel like an active part in Saint Joseph's recovery after the Ebola epidemic.
Teams from the friendly match held on February 4, 2017.
What has Juan Ciudad ONGD learned from this experience?
There's a lot to learn from this project. We've had the opportunity to gain closer contact with European funding platforms and have been able to gain a deeper understanding of how they operate and the bureaucracy involved in submitting and monitoring proposals.
On the other hand, working on capacity building is, in a way, something new for us, as in most cases we focus our projects on infrastructure reform, construction, and equipping OH centers.
This initiative has also allowed us to gain experience as a mediator between a center of the Hospitaller Order and a Spanish institution, contributing our knowledge of Liberian reality and fostering communication between the two entities.
By Adriana Castro, Communications Manager for Jua Ciudad NGO
Photos of Liberia by Guillermo MartĂnez, scientific coordinator of the SELeCT project
