Care integration: solutions to tackle diabetes and smooth the path to ending tuberculosis

30 May 2024 10:00–12:00 CEST International Museum of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, Geneva, Switzerland In Person

FIND and the World Diabetes Foundation organized, on 30 May 2024, an event focused on strategies to tackle diabetes and tuberculosis through coordinated care.

This in-person session took place as part of the FIND Diagnostics Day on the sidelines of the 77th World Health Assembly. For those who were unable to join in person, you will find the recordings of each sessions of the event below.

Post event summary

Care integration: solution to tackle diabetes and smooth the path to ending TB

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Care integration: solutions to tackle diabetes and smooth the path to ending TB
Welcome & Opening remarks Ms Sanne Frost Helt Senior Director Policy, Programme and Partnerships, World Diabetes Foundation Bio Dr Tereza Kasaeva Director, Global Tuberculosis Programme, World Health Organization Bio Dr Bente Mikkelsen Director, Non-communicable Diseases Programme, World Health Organization Bio
FIRESIDE CHAT: Lived experiences Ms Carol Nawina Maimbolwa Executive Director, CITAMplus Bio Ms Blessina Kumar Chief Executive Officer, Global Coalition of TB Advocates Bio
PANEL: Integrated service delivery Moderated by Ms Carol Nawina Maimbolwa Nyirenda, Executive Director, CITAMplus Dr Gladwell Gathecha Ag Head, Division of Non-communicable Diseases, Ministry of Health, Kenya Bio Mr Pak Setiaji Chief Digital Transformation Office & Senior Advisor of Health Technology to the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia Bio Dr Bente Mikkelsen Director, Non-communicable Diseases Programme, World Health Organization Bio Dr Sanjay Sarin VP Access, FIND Bio
PANEL: Integrated financing Moderated by Ms Blessina Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, Global Coalition of TB Advocates Dr Grania Brigden Senior Tuberculosis Advisor, The Global Fund Bio Mr Bent Lautrup-Nielsen Head of Global Advocacy, World Diabetes Foundation Bio Dr Tereza Kasaeva Director, Global Tuberculosis Programme, World Health Organization Dr Adelard Kakunze Lead, Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health Program, Africa CDC Bio
Closing remarks Moderated by Ms Blessina Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, Global Coalition of TB Advocates Dr Grania Brigden Senior Tuberculosis Advisor, The Global Fund Bio Mr Bent Lautrup-Nielsen Head of Global Advocacy, World Diabetes Foundation Bio Dr Tereza Kasaeva Director, Global Tuberculosis Programme, World Health Organization Bio Dr Adelard Kakunze Lead, Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health Program, Africa CDC Bio

Resources

Information note	Implementation guidance

About our speakers
Back to the agenda	Dr Grania Brigden Senior Tuberculosis Advisor, The Global Fund Grania Brigden is a Senior TB Advisor at The Global Fund. In this role, she is involved in providing technical advice on investment of Global Fund resources to Global Fund teams and grant implementers and works closely with national programs and technical partners. Additionally, she leads the TB Next Gen Market Shaping and TB New Product Introduction work. Grania has previously worked for The International Union Against TB and Lung Disease (The Union) as the Director of TB, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Access Campaign as a TB Advisor, with Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) in Uganda. Grania studied medicine at University of Aberdeen and completed her specialist training in general and respiratory medicine in the UK and is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh.
Back to the agenda	Dr Sergio Carmona Acting CEO and Chief Medical Officer, FIND Dr Sergio Carmona is a seasoned leader in global health, currently serving as the acting CEO and Chief Medical Officer at FIND. Sergio has been instrumental in shaping FIND’s strategic direction and spearheading critical initiatives since joining the organization in 2019. As Chief Medical Officer, Sergio has oversight of FIND’s programmatic and access activities, and he played a pivotal role in FIND’s contributions to the global emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing from over a decade of experience at the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) in South Africa, Sergio brings extensive expertise in molecular diagnostics and treatment monitoring, particularly in areas such as early infant diagnosis, HIV drug resistance, and associated co-infections. His contributions have significantly advanced the field, shaping guidelines and policies at national and international levels. A haematologist by training, Sergio’s academic background includes a medical degree (MBBCh) from the University of Witwatersrand, a Pathology Specialization (FCPath), and a PhD in Molecular Medicine and Haematology. His research outputs have informed critical guidance in HIV diagnostics and management, earning him recognition as a key contributor to the technical committees of the World Health Organization and other global health organizations. Sergio’s multicultural background, with roots in both South Africa and Chile, enriches his perspectives and enhances his effectiveness in diverse global settings. Sergio earned his medical degree (MBBCh) from the University of Witwatersrand before doing a Pathology Specialization (FCPath) in 2009, earning a PhD in Molecular Medicine and Haematology in 2018. He is proficient in both English and Spanish.
Back to the agenda	Ms Sanne Frost Helt Senior Director for Policy, Programme and Partnerships, World Diabetes Foundation Sanne Frost Helt is Senior Director for Policy, Programme and Partnerships at the World Diabetes Foundation. Sanne has more than 20 years' experience in international development cooperation and partnerships on a range of issues related to health, including reproductive, maternal and child health, communicable and non-communicable diseases, and pandemic response. Her experience spans Ministry of Foreign Affairs Denmark, the UN system, and the private sector. Before joining the World Diabetes Foundation, Sanne was Denmark’s representative to the Board of the World Bank Group. Prior to that, she was Chief Advisor for Global Health at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denmark at which time she also served as co-Chair of the WHO/Global Coordinating Mechanism on NCDs Working Group on inclusion of NCDs in other programmatic areas.
Back to the agenda	Dr Gladwell Gathecha Ag Head, Division of Non-communicable Diseases, Ministry of Health, Kenya Dr. Gladwell Gathecha is the Ag. Head of the Division of Non-Communicable Diseases at the Ministry of Health. She has more than ten years of experience working in health systems strengthening, policy development and research in the field of Non-Communicable Diseases and Injuries. Dr. Gathecha interests includes health financing and surveillance and she seeks to find synergies between social determinants of health and healthcare interventions to create more equitable health outcomes. Dr. Gathecha leads several research and implementation projects, which have had a major impact for creating knowledge about NCDs in Kenya. Dr. Gathecha is the National coordinator for the National Non-Communicable Diseases and Injuries Poverty Commission.
Back to the agenda	Dr Adelard Kakunze Lead, Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health Program, Africa CDC Dr Adelard Kakunze is a medical doctor, an accomplished public health professional and social entrepreneur with commitment to engage in knowledge translation to improve health systems in Africa. He is currently leading the Non-communicable diseases and Mental health Unit under the Division of Disease Control and Prevention at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). Before, he was supporting the office of the inaugural Director of the Africa CDC as a technical officer. He has published for his work in public health on the fronts of Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) prevention, NCDs surveillance and mobile health technologies, epidemic preparedness metrics, etc. Dr Kakunze has also marked impact on social entrepreneurship, Founder of two start-ups and as Founding Curator of the World Economic Forum Young Leaders community (Global Shapers) in Burundi. He is a 2015 Tony Elumelu entrepreneur, IVLP and YALI Alumni, and One Young World Ambassador since 2013.
Back to the agenda	Dr Tereza Kasaeva Director, Global Tuberculosis Programme, World Health Organization Dr Tereza Kasaeva, MD, PhD is the Director of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Tuberculosis Programme. Since 2018, she has been leading WHO’s work on norms, policies and standards on TB prevention and care; technical support to countries, including through the three-level WHO TB technical expert network; monitoring the global TB epidemic; promoting TB research & innovations and strengthening political and multisectoral engagement, accountability and advocacy to End TB. Dr Kasaeva has more than 28 years of experience in public health and in leading innovative efforts for socially significant diseases, including TB, with over a decade with the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.
Back to the agenda	Ms Blessina Kumar Chief Executive Officer, Global Coalition of TB Advocates Blessina Kumar is a Health Advocate with a background in Public Health and Health Systems management and special expertise on Tuberculosis focussing on community engagement. She has worked with varied communities across India and the Sudan building networks of community members and building capacity on health. She has endeavoured to bridge the patient – practitioner divide through community literacy and policy advocacy at a macro level. For the last 18 years, Blessina has focused on TB supporting CSO’s and community groups across India, Asia Pacific, Africa and LAC. She has built capacity of affected community members and advocated for their inclusion in TB policy and implementation bodies, globally. Blessina has used every opportunity, policy meeting and country meeting to advocate for inclusion of community representatives. In India she has led the civil society movement against TB, lobbied decision makers and worked with parliamentarians to raise TB awareness among them for better care and support for patients and accountability from the TB programme. Her strong advocacy highlighting the issue of stigma has contributed richly to make addressing stigma and discrimination a top global priority. Presently, Blessina heads the Global Coalition of TB Advocates (GCTA), a body that is in the forefront of ensuring a people centred and rights-based TB response. GCTA has developed several guidance documents, community brochures and training manuals and tools for the benefit of the TB affected community She continues to serve on many global and regional boards and committees bringing her expertise and the community perspective to the table. She was a member of the WHO Civil Society Task Force (CSTF) TB for 6 years. Presently she is the Global Community Advisory Group member for UNITE4TB, Member WHO Technical Advisory Group (TAG), Co-Chair of India n Council for Medical Research National Community Advisory Board (NCAB), Member of the International Scientific Advisory Group -ICMR, Member of CAB Benefit Kids Stellenbosch TB Centre South Africa, Technical Advisor for WHO Southeast Asia Region for TB, Technical Advisor Community Engagement, National TB Programme, India.
Back to the agenda	Sarah-Jane Loveday Director, Communications, FIND Sarah-Jane Loveday leads the communications team at FIND, with two decades of experience in health communications spanning public relations, external scientific affairs, global strategic marketing and medical communications. Prior to joining FIND in 2017, she co-led the healthcare team at Weber Shandwick Geneva, a leading global public relations agency with both private and non-profit sector mandates, and has worked in-house and as a consultant for various private sector pharmaceutical companies, including Merck, Celgene, Novartis, GSK, Ipsen and Abbott. Sarah-Jane began her career in journal publishing, and trained as a medical editor. Her extensive portfolio covers all aspects of communications strategy, planning and delivery, both online and offline. Sarah-Jane is a Certified Medical Publications Professional, holds a BSc(Hons) from City University, London (UK) and a master’s degree from Royal Holloway, University of London (UK).
Back to the agenda	Mr Bent Lautrup-Nielsen Head of Global Advocacy, World Diabetes Foundation Bent Lautrup-Nielsen is Head of Global Advocacy at World Diabetes Foundation (WDF). Over the past decade he has developed some of WDF’s largest national NCD response partnerships and he leads WDF’s global collaboration with the WHO and other international agencies. Prior to joining WDF he was based in East Africa with the UN system.
Back to the agenda	Dr Bente Mikkelsen Director, Non-communicable Diseases Programme, World Health Organization Dr Bente Mikkelsen is Director, Noncommunicable Diseases in the division of UHC/Communicable and Noncommunicable diseases, World Health Organization (WHO) Headquarters (Geneva, Switzerland). She was formerly Director, Division of Noncommunicable Diseases and Promoting Health through the Life-course at the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (Copenhagen, Denmark), Head of Secretariat for the Global Coordination Mechanism on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (WHO GCM/NCD) at the World Health Organization Headquarters (Geneva, Switzerland) from its inception in 2014 as well as a former CEO of the Southern and Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority. Dr Mikkelsen is trained as a Gynaecologist and Obstetrician and holds a Master’s degree in Health Administration and Management from the University of Oslo. Her current focus is on achieving the SDGs through the reduction of premature deaths from NCDs in the context of WHO General Programme of Work, and working across sectors with Mult stakeholders, within and beyond the health sector using innovation, implementation research, health literacy and new technologies.
Back to the agenda	Ms Carol Nawina Maimbolwa Executive Director, CITAMPlus Carol is a renowned international TB/HIV activist, a passionate community representative who uses her personal experience with TB/HIV. She is Executive Director of CITAMplus, an NGO based in Zambia which works closely with NTP and a member of MoH TB TWG. She is board member representing affected communities on the boards of Stop TB Partnership and TBPeople and in the past Unitaid, Global Fund and The Union. At national levels she is FPP of the Parliamentary TB Caucus, national Stop TB Partnership and chairperson of CSOs TB network. Also past president of Africa Coalition on TB and a diagnostic champion.
Back to the agenda	Dr Sanjay Sarin VP, Access, FIND Sanjay Sarin joined FIND in September 2015 as Head of Country Operations for India and Head of Access Programme for Asia Pacific. He has a doctorate from PGIMER, Chandigarh, India and close to 20 years’ experience in health policy, market development, and business management with specialization in the development of strategic initiatives for driving access in emerging markets. In his current role, he is responsible for providing leadership for strategic plan development and implementation of current and planned operations in FIND India, ensuring continued engagement with partners and donors at local and international levels and leading the resource mobilization efforts in the AP region. Sanjay joined FIND from Becton Dickinson (BD), where he was Regional Director of Global Health for the Asia Pacific region and was responsible for design, development, and implementation of BD’s public health strategies. During his stint with BD, he was instrumental in establishing several key partnerships, including one with MoH India, which resulted in expansion of TB diagnostic capacity within the national TB programme; TB lab strengthening partnership with USAID in Indonesia; collaboration with Project Hope to strengthen diabetes management capacity at Class 1 facilities in China, and a lab systems strengthening partnership with CDC and MoH India known as the “Labs for Life Partnership”. Before joining BD, Sanjay served as Regional Lab Advisor (India & South East Asia) with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI). In CHAI, he played a key role in scaling up access to CD4 monitoring within India’s AIDS Control Programme and was responsible for setting up more than a dozen functional CD4 laboratories, development of the CD4 enumeration guidelines and an external quality assurance system for CD4 monitoring in India.
Back to the agenda	Mr Pak Setiaji Chief Digital Transformation Office / Senior Advisor of Health Technology to the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia Mr Setiaji is an Expert Advisor of Health Technology to The Minister of Health in Indonesia. Mr Setiaji, a digital leader and a civil servant with more than 10 years of experience in digital transformation and smart city development and digital transformation in the line ministries and government agencies in Indonesia. His experience leading the West Java Digital Services, Jakarta Smart City grows my expertise in information technology as he was a graduate of information technology engineering. All his expertises and experiences are being applied to serve the public effectively, efficiently, and impactful to the citizens based on data and technology utilization. He is a team builder who is very attentive to the needs of stakeholders and leaders. He is a digital leader with a warm & friendly attitude always! He plays an essential role in providing practical solutions that directly impact and improve public services. He has won various National and International awards in Digital Transformation: Top CIO on Digital Implementation, IT Works 2021 and The World CIO 200 Awards–SEA Edition, Global CIO Forum 2021.