Better policies and less infectious diseases in Peru and Latin America

The objective of the programme is to consolidate IMTAVH’s education, research and synergy. The aim is to get research into policy and practice capacities and to become a driver for change for the prevention and control of infectious diseases in Latin America. And finally, to contribute to healthy lives and well-being. The Instituto de Medicina Tropical “Alexander von Humboldt” (IMTAVH) is a national and regional referral centre in infectious diseases with special expertise in public health concerns such as malaria, tuberculosis, leishmaniasis, dengue, HTLV-1, COVID-19 and bacterial diseases alongside antimicrobial resistance. Through its longstanding partnership with ITM, the IMTAVH has been able to reach a robust critical mass of scientists involved in research and teaching. However, it still holds a limited reach to translate its research into national guidelines, protocols and measures. This multidisciplinary proposal aims to contribute to better health policies and services. The programme wants to do this through improved education and research practices, improved services to society, knowledge translation into practice and strengthened networks. This will lead to better prevention and control of infectious diseases in Peru and in the Latin American region, by increasing the availability of more and better evidence and the decision maker's willingness to use it. To achieve this goal, we will provide scholarships to top-tier educational programmes in infectious disease control and molecular epidemiology to Peruvian regional applicants and personnel working in key positions within the health sector. We will expand our research capacities by developing new research platforms and including next-generation sequencing and Eco Health research. We will also translate our research into policy briefs targeted to decision makers and pursue synergies with key stakeholders, institutions and key collaborators, striving for the conduction of high-impact research that can benefit multiple nations. By organizing annual colloquiums, we expect to foster and nurture national and international partnerships to continue to expand the reach of our results.