Between June 27th and 29th, the first financial meeting of the CUIDA Chagas project took place, bringing together the partner teams in the consortium, from Colombia, Paraguay and Bolivia. The objective of the meeting was to evaluate the actions carried out through training sessions and the work with the teams, in which information was shared about the forms and needs passed by the project's funder.

During the meeting, presentations were made by the institutions involved, since the international members did not know each other in person. From Brazil, Fiotec professionals, Luiz Abiel and Raquel Silva, presented the institution's work and the collaboration with Fiocruz for the progress of the activities carried out.

Mary Roig, from SENEPA (Paraguay), said that the event was a very important opportunity to interact face-to-face with the Fiotec and Fiocruz teams. “We can learn from our partners' experiences and, in some way, teach from ours. It is also a space to create bonds, to relate faces to names, making it easier for the execution to be more orderly, harmonic and complementary, as a project of this complexity should be”, she said.

The director of CUIDA, Debbie Vermeij, took the opportunity to provide a general update and, explaining the current financial situation, Leila Spelta, project manager, presented the semi-annual report of the consortium. There were also practical dynamics of budget review, which is a financial scope report.

The last day was dedicated to presenting the progress and status of this year's audit, as well as the planning for next year.

The project

CUIDA Chagas – “Communities United for Innovation, Development and Care for Chagas Disease” – combines implementation and innovation researches aiming at developing a comprehensive and integrated approach to achieve its goal: to contribute to the elimination of vertical transmission of the Chagas disease in Latin America.

The proposal aims at benefiting women of childbearing age, their children and household contacts, increasing and intensifying access to diagnosis, treatment and comprehensive care for Chagas disease through innovative and sustainable approaches.