ITI Director, Data Analyst to Present on Global Trachoma Strategy, Maps and Atlases at Tropical Medicine Conference

ITI Director Danny Haddad and Information Analyst Rebecca Mann will speak at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) annual conference December 4-8 in Philadelphia.

Haddad will present a new global strategic plan – called 2020 INSight – created by the International Coalition for Trachoma Control (ICTC). It lays out specific actions to take and milestones to meet in order to eliminate blinding trachoma by 2020.

Mann, an expert on Geographic Information Systems who has created hundreds of maps that show trachoma prevalence and SAFE interventions, presents Tuesday on the challenges inherent in managing large amounts of data. Mann will draw from her years of experience creating databases, maps, and online atlases for ITI and the ICTC.

Trachoma research done In Tanzania by ITI’s Trachoma Expert Committee (TEC) members Anthony Solomon, Paul Courtright, and Allen Foster also will be presented.

Additionally, Els Mathieu (in left of above photo), a CDC researcher and participant in TEC meetings, will be speaking with Boubacar Sarr (in right of above photo) of the Senegalese Ministry of Health about the shared geographical and environmental characteristics of five NTDs (Neglected Tropical Diseases) targeted for control or elimination (lymphatic filariasis, onchoceriasis, trachoma, schistosomiasis, and soil-transmitted helminths). Mathieu and Sarr will provide an update on NTD mapping in sub-Saharan Africa, demonstrating the possibilities and effectiveness of NTD programs working together to eliminate each disease.

The ASTMH brings together scientists, clinicians and program professionals whose mission is to promote global health through the prevention and control of infectious and other diseases that disproportionately afflict the world’s poor. This is their 60^th annual meeting.

Please visit http://www.astmh.org/home.htmfor more information on the ASTMH.