Are you interested in resilience and sustainability? Then join the September NNN 2020 annual conference!

Resilience and sustainability – of health systems and beyond – have never been more relevant. This year’s annual Neglected Tropical Disease NGO Network (NNN) conference, “Accelerating to 2030: Building Resilient NTD Programmes in a Changing World”, will tackle these themes head on.

Taking place virtually for the first time, from 8 – 10 September 2020, the conference will include a wide range of workshops to respond to current and ongoing world challenges, driving robust discussions within and outside of the neglected tropical disease (NTD) community aimed at innovative partnerships, cross-sector collaboration and solutions to control, eliminate and eradicate NTDs once and for all.

The 11^th NNN annual conference provides an interactive platform for NGOs, health ministries, donor agencies, and philanthropic and private stakeholders working to control, eliminate and eradicate NTDs to come together to share experiences and exchange knowledge through plenaries and workshops. For the second year in a row, the NNN will also host the NTD Innovation Prize, in collaboration with American Leprosy Mission. This year’s conference will look to cement the NTD NGO community’s understanding of the paradigm shifts outlined in the WHO 2021 – 2030 Global NTD road map and build capacity to achieve an ambitious collective vision to beat NTDs. It seeks to engage new partners from fields such as veterinary public health, environmental science, health systems, vector control, water and sanitation, education, humanitarian emergencies and more to achieve the road map’s ambitious targets and this year’s virtual format allows this vibrant NTD community to open its doors more widely and draw in participation from new regions and disciplines.

The current COVID-19 pandemic is testing how we work together to address critical challenges. Support for international cooperation hangs in the balance at precisely the moment when robust collaboration is needed most. At its core, the WHO 2021 – 2030 Global NTD road map aims to drive partnerships, cross-sector action and political will to achieve universal health coverage and a better world for all in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals. It therefore serves as an invaluable tool to guide health ministries, implementing partners and donors towards a joint vision of resilient and sustainable health systems that serve everyone, everywhere. While the road map could not have predicted COVID-19, it does actively promote the need to include climate change resilience and sustainability, recognises the challenges of conflict and confronting the systemic forces that impact the creation and access to strengthened and resilient health systems. In 2020 we must answer the question: How resolved are we to confront the challenges and embrace the opportunities ahead, and what is needed to do so?

What is in store at this year’s annual conference?

This year the conference encompasses a rich and diverse selection of virtual workshops and rapid-fire sessions. In keeping with this year’s conference theme, workshops will include preferred practices in disability inclusion and ensuring the human rights of people affected by NTDs, translating research into policy and programmes, knowledge management to share learning and evidence of what works and where, building sustainable public health capacity, behaviour change programming, economic impact models for the control and elimination of NTDs, mental well-being and stigma, and more.  

Alongside the workshops will be two rapid-fire sessions consisting of a series of 5-minute presentations on a wide array of topics—communications, policy, programmes, examples of cross-sectoral partnerships NTD operations in humanitarian settings, cross-sectoral partnerships across disciplines, and many more. These will be short, sharp and exciting, offering expert insight in emerging or ongoing topics of interest.

Who can join the conference? 

This year, the NNN conference will be FREE to all participants, and we’ve seen a huge response. We are currently operating a waiting list for the virtual conference and you can register your interest here! When your registration has been confirmed, you will be sent details to set up an online profile that will help you to actively engage in the workshops and rapid-fire sessions as well as build personal networks through the virtual conference platform. If you have any questions regarding the conference registration, waiting list or no longer able to participate, please contact admin [at] NNNevents [dot] com as soon as possible. 

The NNN 2020 conference is about opening the NTD NGO community to be challenged to do better, and to ‘walk the talk’ of resilience and sustainability. We invite you, whether you work in NTDs, global health, WASH, education, disability inclusion, veterinary public health or just have an active interest in public health, to join us during this three day conference and shape our vision (to 2030 and beyond) of resilient NTD programs and health systems in a changing world.