Science Summit at United Nations General Assembly (UNGA78)

Dear Meeting Participants,

Please have a look at our session recording (link pasted on this site), and find the time slots that may be particularly interesting to you below. We hope that you appreciate the topics, which were health research incl. implementation approaches, African leadership, capacity building in 14 sub-Saharan African countries and Germany, networking and policy engagement as well as the panel discussion about how we can pave the way for positive change in health. We hope that you liked the session in case you had the chance to participate.

Please understand that the lower quality of the video (particularly the first 16 minutes) is caused by zooming in on the speaker, but the presentations are then of high quality.

Time in Video                 Agenda

00:00 – 02:00         Welcome by Manuela Rehtanz (Moderator), RHISSA Coordinator, DLR-PT

02:00 – 03:23         Welcome by Elisabeth Deus, Counsellor for Health Affairs, Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations in New York

03:30 – 16:35          Brian O'Connor “Digital Health in Africa”, Executive Chair, ECHAlliance

16:36 – 20:03          Introduction to the networks by Manuela Rehtanz

Network presentations

20:08 – 33:45           ADAPT: One Health

34:04 – 51:45           DASH: Adolescent health

51:47 – 1:07:32        NORA: Breast and cervical cancer

1:07:33 – 1:22:47     STAIRS: Sepsis

1:22:54 – 1:37:50     TAKeOFF: Lymphatic filariasis and podoconiosis

1:38:00 – 1:54:22     TB Sequel: Post tuberculosis lung disease

European Commission

1:55:02 – 2:07:44     Irene Norstedt, Director responsible for the People Directorate, DG for Research and Innovation, European Commission

Panel Discussion

2:07:53 – 3:22:02     Six network leaders and Magdalena Skipper, Editor in Chief of the journal “Nature” discuss
                                 “How can we achieve the SDGs and pave the way for positive change in health now?
                                  Followed by questions from the floor & chat

3:22:03 – 3:25:05      Brief wrap-up and recommendations

Agenda
14:00    Welcome by Manuela Rehtanz (Moderator)
             RHISSA Coordinator, DLR-PT
14:03    Welcome by Elisabeth Deus
             Counsellor for Health Affairs
             Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations in New York
14:05    Brian O'Connor “Digital Health in Africa”
             Executive Chair, ECHAlliance
14:09    Introduction to the networks
14:15    Network presentations
15:45    Irene Norstedt
             Director responsible for the People Directorate, DG for Research and Innovation, European Commission
16:00    Panel discussion: “How can we achieve the SDGs and pave the way for positive change in health now?”
             Six network leaders and Magdalena Skipper, Editor in Chief of the journal “Nature”
16:40    Questions from the floor & chat and brief wrap-up
17:00    End of session

Introduction & aims

“Research Networks for Health Innovations in Sub-Saharan Africa” (RHISSA) has been a major funding initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) since 2016. Working in 14 sub-Saharan countries and Germany, five networks have improved treatments and diagnostic tests for tropical diseases, contributed to several WHO guidelines and participated in the local SARS-CoV-2 pandemic response during the first funding phase (2016-2022). The networks have also built and expanded research capacities and strengthened intra-African and African-German networking.

With this session, we aim to connect the six networks of the second funding phase (2023-2028) with key stakeholders to initiate discussions that might help optimize their research implementation, capacity strengthening and research uptake.

Abstract

Under RHISSA, the networks will implement research programs that target neglected tropical diseases (filariasis, podoconiosis, onchocerciasis) and high-burden diseases (sepsis, breast and cervical cancer, post-tuberculosis lung disease) and address challenges around adolescent health and One Health (with a focus on antibiotic resistance). Through African-led partnerships between African and German academic and non-government organizations, the networks build and strengthen research capacity in 14 sub-Saharan countries and Germany, support the career development of junior and senior researchers and engage in discussions about research uptake. To address local and regional needs, the networks have aligned their research plans with regional policy strategies.

With their programs, the networks aim to contribute to the achievement not only of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all”, but also other SDGs, such as education, innovation, decent work, strong institutions, gender equality and partnerships for the goals.

The networks will present their plans across four work packages: research, capacity building, networking and policy engagement and research transfer.

We will conclude the session with a panel discussion about achieving SDG3 and other SDGs until 2030, about what has to follow and about how we can pave the way now for positive change in global health for all people.

Expected Outcomes

• A fruitful discussion on what we can achieve in health until 2030 and beyond and on what we have to initialize now for positive change.
• Increased visibility for the networks and their research topics
• Interdisciplinary exchange with other researchers having similar goals, such as contributing to the achievement of the SDG3
• Networking with stakeholders, such as government, industry and civil society representatives, interested in bringing research results into policy and practice