The event held by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) in celebration of the International Chagas Disease Day, last Wednesday (April 14th), marked the virtual execution of the agreement with Unitaid, CUIDA Chagas, which aims to eliminate transmission disease in Latin American countries. The project is co-financed by the Brazilian Ministry of Health and is supported by Fiotec, also involving Paraguay, Bolivia, and Colombia.

At the launch, the initiative's main researcher, Andréa Silvestre, commented that early detection and access to treatment with high chances of cure in young people and children could significantly decrease the number of heart diseases, hospitalizations, and Chagas disease-related deaths. The head of the Laboratory of Clinical Research in Chagas Disease at INI/Fiocruz celebrated the beginning of a project that appears aligned with the global goal of eliminating the disease as a public health problem by 2030.

The consortium led by Fiocruz has an investment of US$ 19 million (R$ 107.8 million) from the partnership between the Ministry of Health and Unitaid. The actions will reach 34 municipalities, ten in Bolivia, six in Brazil, 13 in Colombia, and five in Paraguay, selected according to public health priorities. The focus of the project will be transmission from mother to child during pregnancy, so it will accompany pregnant women diagnosed with the disease with a view to their treatment, and at the same time, studying the possible elimination of transmission to the baby.

For the Fiocruz president, Nísia Trindade Lima, "the initiative will bring benefits to the people affected, especially in Latin America, and teachings beyond the continent". And she celebrated, “this is a dream that comes from Carlos Chagas”. 

The National Institute of Laboratories, from Bolivia; the National Institute of Health, from Colombia; the National Malaria Eradication Service, from Paraguay; and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (Find) organization participate in the consortium alongside Fiocruz, Ministry of Health, and Unitaid, It also has the technical support of WHO and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), in addition to the participation of civil society, through the support of the International Federation of Associations of People Affected by Chagas Disease (Findechagas). The consortium's activities are scheduled until October 2025.

With information from an article published in the Fiocruz News Agency (AFN).