A Nigerian researcher has been selected for a prestigious fellowship to help eliminate a Neglected Tropical Disease, NTD.
According to a press release issued by Joy Tarbo, Sightsavers, Communication Associate, Martins Imhansoloeva, a PhD candidate at the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney in Australia and researcher for Sightsavers has been named as a fellow for The Global Institute for Disease Elimination, GLIDE, 2024-2025 Injaz Fellowship for Disease Elimination program.
The statement disclosed that the fellowship will support Martins’ research on river blindness in Angola revealing that in its early stages the disease, also known as onchocerciasis, causes painful skin irritation, inflammation and itching and if left untreated, the parasite which causes it can migrate into the eye causing irreversible sight loss.
“The World Health Organization estimates that more than 246 million people1 around the world remain at risk of the disease,” the statement disclosed.
It stated that Martins’ research will gather data on the blackflies which spread the disease that will be vital in measuring progress towards eliminating it adding that His Injaz Fellowship will support his learning and development with courses providing knowledge, skills, and leadership strategies to make critical inroads in tackling NTDs, malaria, and polio.
It added that Martins has been researching NTDs since he joined Sightsavers in 2019 noting that his previous research includes investigating approaches to improve the reporting of Mass Drug Administration, MDA, data for NTDs, increasing awareness of and improving treatment for female genital schistosomiasis in Nigeria and studies to improve trapping methods for the blackfly that spread river blindness in Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Malawi and Mozambique.
“Angola continues to grapple with river blindness, a disease which causes painful skin irritation and can lead to permanent blindness. While regular community-wide drug campaigns are now being rolled out, we have little data on the transmission dynamics about the blackfly that spread the disease. I will use the Injaz Fellowship to close this knowledge gap,” Martins Imhansoloeva, Sightsavers researcher and PhD candidate at the Kirby Institute explained.
“The Injaz Fellowship provides future leaders with an opportunity to expand their research and build on their knowledge and specialist skills in disease elimination. Developing future leaders is an essential component of disease elimination and I look forward to seeing how the winning individuals advance efforts in their countries and become agents of change in their respective fields,” Simon Bland, CEO, GLIDE said.
“The other three winning projects are in the areas of rabies, trachoma, and enhancing delivery of neglected tropical diseases, NTDs, projects for women and vulnerable populations, in geographies spanning Australasia and Africa.
“The Injaz Fellowship is an innovative program designed to advance global efforts to eliminate and eradicate infectious diseases. The focus diseases for this fellowship are neglected tropical diseases, malaria and polio. The fellowship aims to enhance fellows’ expertise in disease elimination and eradication, enabling them to contribute first to their countries and then to global health through research, and policy advocacy.
“By concentrating efforts on diseases that significantly affect underserved populations, the Injaz Fellowship will be an important platform to promote global health equity and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Additionally, the Fellowship is strategically aligned with GLIDE’s mission to address the critical demand for skilled professionals in disease elimination to achieve the ambitious elimination goals for 2030 and beyond.
“The winning individuals were selected based on their contribution in disease elimination, project proposals and leadership potential to address capacity strengthening, implementation excellence and global health diplomacy needs within disease elimination,” the statement further disclosed.