2020-2021 Joint PAHO/TDR Small Grant Scheme – Operational Research to Support the Elimination of Communicable Diseases in the Latin American and Caribbean Region
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in collaboration with the Special Program for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), has announced the 2020 – 2021 call for applications for the Joint PAHO/TDR Small Grant Scheme for operational research to support the elimination of communicable diseases in the Latin American and Caribbean Region.
Objective: Facilitate and strengthen elimination-oriented operational research in selected communicable diseases that are potential candidates for elimination through an integrated approach
Methodology and fund scope: Interventions and research questions within the scope of this call are listed below. These have been selected based on a priority selection process undertaken by the PAHO core working group on the Elimination Initiative. The funding is available for research only.
This PAHO/TDR call will not fund treatment and routine delivery of health services. Implementation and operational research activities supported by this call may be complementary to those supported through other stakeholders interested in the diseases and conditions covered in this call.
Priority Research Areas by Disease and Health Condition
Trachoma - What are the facilitators and barriers mediating the face-washing with soap and water throughout the day, among children 1 to 9 years old in indigenous communities of the Amazon basin of Brazil, Colombia, and Peru where trachoma is documented as a public health problem? 3-4 What is the most reliable metric for measuring them? What interventions should be implemented to increase facial cleanliness of children in this context?
- Rapid assessments for trachoma among rural communities in the Amazon basin of Ecuador and Bolivia to provide information on the need or not to subsequently implement population-based surveys.5
Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of Hepatis B virus and Chagas - Assessment of the epidemiology and cascade of care and the coverage of interventions for prevention/treatment of HBV and Chagas for pregnant women, mothers and their children up to a definitive diagnosis and/or cure
- Design, pilot and evaluate an innovative model of care and service delivery in Mother-Child Health including antenatal care that address EMTCT of hepatitis B and Chagas, integrated with other diseases.
Schistosomiasis and Soil Transmitted Helminthiasis - When delivering deworming drugs (as a public health intervention) for adolescent girls, women in reproductive age and pregnant women (eligible), what are the most effective strategies to achieve acceptance/compliance in populations living in endemic geographic areas?
- Are snails still intermediate hosts for schistosomiasis transmission in St. Lucia and what malacological surveillance methods best answer this question?
Tuberculosis - Pilot the introduction and scale up of treating latent TB with the short regimen of rifapentine plus isoniazid (3HP) and document the effectiveness and challenges of the interventions used
- Assess the increase in TB diagnosis using rapid tests in population under 15 years of age.
Research proposed must be conducted in Latin America and the Caribbean;
Principal investigator must be based in institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean, including national tropical/communicable disease control program, ministries of health, academic institutions, research institutes, national research institutions; and non-governmental organizations.
