#Colloq22

ITM Colloquium
Global Exchange on Covid-19

Takeaways from a pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown heterogeneity in different parts of the world. Some countries, including Peru, South Africa, Brazil and India, suffered from very deadly epidemics, while other parts of Latin America, Asia and Africa contained the COVID-19 epidemic well. Nevertheless, there has been a lot of “collateral damage” on the health and education system, as well as on the economy, but with a very different impact in lowand middle-income versus high-income regions. It remains a challenge to understand this heterogeneity, because for many countries, good quality data were lacking. However, heterogeneity also relates to the very inequitable distribution of diagnostic capabilities, treatment options and access to vaccines. Our ITM Colloquium gathers our partner institutions of the DGD Framework programme, our students, staff and alumni, as well as invited researchers. Together we will share expertise and knowledge, discuss the evidence and try to interpret the various courses of the epidemics. We will also zoom in on the effect of different containments policies, the access and implementation of diagnostics, therapy and vaccines as well as the direct and indirect effects of COVID-19 on the health systems and societies.

This edition of the ITM Colloquium will contain six sessions. Each will focus on different aspects of the pandemic:

Session 1: COVID-19 in Africa
Session 2: COVID-19 in Latin America
Session 3: COVID-19 in Eurasia
Session 4: Pandemic data management, sharing and translation
Session 5: Contribution of young researchers
Session 6: COVID-19 diagnostics, vaccines and medicines

We aim to involve young researchers by short presentations in session 6 and by a poster presentation, which can be visited in the main corridor during coffee and lunch breaks. During the panel discussions at the end of each session, experiences and views will be exchanged and perspectives offered.

PROGRAMME

06/12 - Day 1

Morning 8:15 - 9:20

Start time	End time	Duration	Activity	Chair & speakers
8:15	8:45	30 min	Registration and coffee
8:45	8:50	5 min	Welcome	Marc-Alain Widdowson
8:50	9:00	10 min	Introduction	Wim Van Damme
9:00	9:25	25 min	State-of-the-art-lecture - Clinical aspects of COVID-19, including diagnostics and treatment options The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an unprecedented research effort to develop diagnostics and therapeutics against a new and evolving pathogen causing successive epidemic waves. Although collaboration between scientific institutions could have been much more efficient, an impressive set of new diagnostic methods and treatment options tailored to the different stages of the disease has been developed and evaluated in less than two years. This talk aims at providing a brief but comprehensive overview of the successes and failures in the rush to find adequate tools for clinical care of COVID-19.	Emmanuel Bottieau

Session 1 9:25 - 13:00
Covid-19 in Africa

Start time	End time	Duration	Activity	Chair & speakers
9:25	9:50	25 min	Challenges to understand the COVID-19 epidemic in Africa Prof Vandamme will first summarize the overarching themes which will be tackled in the session, with special focus on the question about the severity of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality in sSA and the impacts of the pandemic on the countries’ health systems. Next, Vandamme will present the data sources theoretically available with their strengths and limitations, their different availability for countries in sSA, with the observation that these data seem to lead different researchers to very different conclusions. Prof. Ahuka will then give an overview of the data available from DRC and more in general from sSA, with their strengths and limitations as well as the scientific rationale for their interpretation. Finally, he will discuss his insights as overall Incident Manager of COVID-19 in DRC.	Wim Van Damme & Steve Ahuka Mundeke
9:50	10:05	15 min	COVID-19 severity in DRC and estimation of importance outbreak based on sero-survey of Health Care Workers together with genomic surveillance The evolution of covid-19 in the DRC has been marked by five distinct waves occurring during almost the same periods each year since 2020 when the first case of covid-19 was identified in the DRC. These waves are characterized by a different clinical and epidemiological profile, certainly influenced by the genomic variation of the identified viral strains including the introduction of variants of concern. A cohort of 561 health care workers from 5 health zones of Kinshasa was followed up between July 2020 and January 2021, with 6-8 weeks intervals. In contrast to the reported low number of severe COVID-19 cases in the first months after the pandemic declaration, this study shows a high and widespread SARS-CoV-2 IgG seroprevalence among the health care workers in Kinshasa, characterized by a frequent and rapid seroreversion in the subsequent months.	Placide Mbala & Joule Madinga
10:05	10:20	15 min	Sero-epidemiology study in Burkina Faso Our study confirms high circulation of the virus in the general population in the two main cities (Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso ) including in adolescents aged 10-18 years old. The results are comparable to those from countries in the region such as Mali or Senegal. However only half of the study participant has COVID-19 symptoms despite the high seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.	Isidore Traore
10:20	10:30	10 min	Short Q&A session
10:30	11:00	30 min	Coffee break Poster viewing
11:00	11:20	20 min	Comprehensive COVID-19 public health response in South Africa South Africa has experienced five COVID-19 waves, reaching over 90% seroprevalence and a high burden of mortality. The surveillance response has been commendable with the establishment of test and case-based surveillance as well as hospital surveillance for reporting cases and hospitalisations; genomic surveillance to report on emerging and circulating variants; wastewater surveillance as an early warning for new resurgences; and excess death surveillance for reporting on natural deaths during the period. A number of serosurveys have provided data on SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence at multiple timepoints during the pandemic. The COVID-19 public health response in South Africa has been mixed. A number of national committees and advisory bodies provided guidance and policy to support the national response and make decisions on national lockdowns and restrictions. The South African vaccine rollout was characterised by delayed rollout but good vaccine availability, however uptake has been poor with significant vaccine hesitance. Some controversies include cases of corruption that may have derailed aspects of the pandemic response including the delivery of personal protective equipment (PPE) and effective communications about preventive behaviour and the importance of vaccination. Finally, while South Africa has been a leading voice in sharing early data on the emergence and characteristics of variants of concern, the global response of instituting travel bans has had adverse effects.	Waasila Jassat
11:20	11:35	15 min	Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and response on the utilization of health services during the first wave in Guinée Introduction: COVID-19 in the aftermath of Ebola Health systems preparedness to COVID-19 Impact on maternal and child health services Collateral impacts COVID-19 response National level Program level Service level Key Challenges	Alexandre Delamou
11:35	11:45	10 min	Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and response on the utilization of health services during the first wave in Kinshasa In March 2020, the government of DRC declared its first case of COVID-19 and started implementing public health measures across Kinshasa, including strict lockdown measures in the Gombe health zone. This study aimed at evaluating the impact of the pandemic on the use of essential health services during the first wave of the pandemic in Kinshasa. We used monthly time series data from the DRC Health Management Information System and interrupted time series with mixed effects segmented Poisson regression models. Analyses were stratified by age, sex, health facility and lockdown policy. Health service use dropped rapidly following the start of the pandemic and ranged from 16% for visits for hypertension to 39% for visits for diabetes. However, reductions were highly concentrated in Gombe (81% decline in outpatient visits) relative to other health zones. When the lockdown was lifted, total visits and visits for infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases increased approximately twofold. Hospitals were more affected than health centres. Overall, the use of maternal health services and vaccinations was not significantly affected. More attention needs to be paid to ensuring the continuity of essential health services during lockdown policies.	Faustin Chenge
11:45	11:55	10 min	Response of first line public and private medical sector to COVID in Benin Ninety PCPs participated in the quantitative strand, and 14 in the qualitative. The median percentage of the COVID-19 control measures implemented in the health facilities, as reported by the PCPs, was 77.8% (interquartile range=16.7%). At the beginning of the pandemic, the PCPs were getting information from the general communication channels, and most of them (70.6%) felt capable of helping the communities to deal with COVID-19. However, almost half of them (45.3%) felt not confident in dealing with an actual case, with a bigger percentage in the private sector. The most common reasons cited for this poor confidence were insufficient training and lack of equipment. The PCPs' experiences were marked by anxiety and fear, with 80.2% reporting stress. Many PCPs (74.1%) reported not receiving support from local health authorities, with a higher percentage in the private sector. For 72.4% and 79.3% of the PCPs, respectively, the pandemic impacted services utilization and daily work. There were negative impacts (like a decrease in the services utilization or the quality of care), but also positive ones (like improved compliance to hygiene measures and new opportunities). The PCPs, despite not being fully prepared for responding to COVID-19, were able to adapt and mitigate its impact, through a better supervision of primary care teams, the use of digital technologies and a better communication with the patients and the technologies. These good practices could be leveraged for improving the quality of primary care beyond the epidemic context.	Kéfilath Bello
11:55	12:10	15 min	Collateral effects of COVID-19 epidemic on maternal and new born health The COVID-19 pandemic, and its associated mitigation measures have interrupted the accessibility and provision of maternal healthcare services. We present findings of research conducted through 1) a global online survey of maternal healthcare providers; and 2) in-depth case-studies six referral hospitals in Guinea, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda, exploring the availability, accessibility, provision and quality of maternity care during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.	Aline Semaan
12:10	12:20	10 min	Qualitative study of the use of vaccines in Kimpese health zone, DRC: what to retain to improve vaccination practices? Vaccination is a proven way to prevent and avoid childhood diseases and some emerging diseases. This activity is experiencing increasing difficulties in the Kimpese health zone (DRC). Our qualitative study focused on vaccination practices in central Congo during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results will be summarized and several recommendations, both from a public health and vaccination research perspective, will also be discussed.	César-Augustin Khoso Muaka & Marie Meudec
12:30	13:00	30 min	Panel Discussion The panel will focus on the following questions: Factors influencing clinical severity of COVID-19 infections in this region (as compared to the rest of the world) How to have a better estimate of the importance of transmission in countries with less severe infections? How to balance containment measures in fragile states? How to promote COVID-19 vaccination in settings with less awareness of risk?	Wim Van Damme, Steve Ahuka & Veerle Van Lerberghe

Noon 13:00 - 14:30

Start time	End time	Duration	Activity	Chair & speakers
13:00	14:00	60 min	Lunch Poster Viewing
14:00	14:20	20 min	State-of-the-art lecture - Evaluation of various vaccine concepts	Kevin Ariën
14:20	14:30	10 min	State-of-the-art lecture - BelCoVac studies When the first COVID-19 vaccines were released on the market, no information was available on their safety, immunogenicity and efficacy in immunocompromised population groups. Sciensano, the Belgian scientific institute of public health, therefore set up a consortium (BelCoVac) of universities, hospitals and institutes to facilitate the organization of COVID-19 vaccination trials. This resulted in several trials which, although organized by different entities, utilized synchronized study designs and centralized laboratory testing of immune parameters. Not only did this allow for the swift and efficient implementation of new trials in a crisis situation, it also produced a large set of perfectly comparable data, in turn enabling the sharing of control populations and cross-study analyses of pooled data.	Pieter Pannus

Session 2 14:30 - 20:00
Why Heterogeneous burden of COVID-19 in Latin America?

Start time	End time	Duration	Activity	Chair & speakers
14:30	14:50	20 min	Overview of the COVID-19 epidemic in Latin-America The presentation will briefly address the healthcare and sociodemographic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean. Drawing on available data, we will analyze the heterogeneous trends of morbidity and mortality during the pandemic in the region, the differences between countries, and their relationship with structural inequalities and fragmentation of the healthcare systems. Finally, we will describe the impacts of COVID-19 in the disruption of access to essential healthcare services, like regular childhood immunizations, sexual and reproductive health, and care of chronic conditions, and the long-term impacts on poverty, employment, and life expectancy.	Rodrigo Henriquez Trujillo
14:50	15:10	20 min	Heterogeneous spatio-temporal burden of COVID-19 in Brazil: virological, immunological and socioeconomic factors Brazil, the most populous South American country, experienced high COVID-19 burden with dramatic human health suffering episodes. This can be highlighted by the Manaus health system overload during the Gamma lineage explosive infection wave. In addition, there is a clear heterogeneous impact on the Brazilian population living in different regions of the country due to the composite impact of viral lineages with altered viral phenotypes, human immune barrier and inequalities in health care access. This presentation will address the virological, immunological and socioeconomic profiles in different regions of Brazil that jointly could explain the COVID-19 dynamics that resulted in the severe impact on the health of the Brazilian population during the two first years of the COVID-19 pandemics.	Gabriel da Luz Wallau
15:10	15:30	20 min	Metrics and interpretation of Cuba’s burden of COVID-19 Science and Technology to inform decision-makers in Cuba, in relation to the handling of the pandemic 1. Weekly meetings with the President and/or Prime-Minister of the country 2. Daily reports on TV about the pandemic, statistics by province/municipality, hot spots identification, NPIs promotion for personal behaviour Statistical and mathematical approaches for modelling COVID-19 1. Active cases/ new cases, Predictive models 2.Models for COVID-19 mortality prediction 3.The burden of COVID-19 - The burden of morbidity and mortality. The disadvantages of this approach in the case of COVID-19. - The burden in terms of “excess mortality %”: the role of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI)	Armando Seuc
15:30	15:40	10 min	Challenges to collect and interpret routine data on COVID-19 in Peru COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of robust and accessible health information systems for data-informed policy making. Peruvian health information system characteristics pose a challenge to research users for several reasons related to -amongst others- availability, accessibility, and quality. Besides, in recent years, civil registration and vital statistics in Peru have undergone major changes related to the implementation of electronic registration and the COVID-19 pandemic.	Victor Vega and Javier Silva
15:40	16:00	20 min	Integrated epidemiological, social and urban description of COVID in Lima Quantitative results on the overlapping burden of tuberculosis cases and COVID-19 deaths in districts in Lima, Peru, and the associated socioeconomic, transport and environmental factors, based on Bayesian modeling of routine data. Qualitative results of in-depth interviews that illustrate the quantitative findings, specifically, vulnerability to COVID-19 because of housing conditions, working and public transport conditions. Multiscalar approach to the identification of quantitative and qualitative factors within the urban landscape	Larissa Otero with Claudia Nieto – Stefanie Dens
16:00	16:30	30 min	Coffee Break Poster viewing
16:30	16:45	15 min	Cuba’s health system response to COVID-19 Cuba's National Health System has managed to guarantee an effective and equitable response to COVID-19. Universal and free health coverage, based on primary care, follows the principle of equity, and the greatest resources are allocated to areas of the lowest socioeconomic stratum (which concentrates the higher health risks), followed by those of medium and high strata, in that order. A Plan for Coronavirus Prevention and Control was elaborated with multisectoral participation. The actions to face the pandemic began with preventive measures in the community, continued in the isolation centers and ended again in the community with actions of surveillance and follow up of recovered patients. The results of the introduction of Cuban Biotechnologies products in the treatment of Covid-19 patients and the role of Cuban vaccines to the management of pandemic will be explained. The IPK, a highly complex institution, has in its profile the study and control of all communicable diseases, during the Covid19 pandemic the IPK make a role in the introduction and extension of SARS-Cov2 diagnosis in Cuba, molecular surveillance, medical care, teaching and research. The lesson learned for Cuba in the confrontation of Covid-19 and in the IPK as a National reference Center for a control of infectious diseases will be presented	Yanaris Lopez
16:45	17:00	15 min	Vaccine development and roll-out in Cuba Cuban biotechnology and the health system faced an accelerated process of development, evaluation and introduction of anti-COVID-19 vaccines to protect the population. We synthetize the clinical evaluation strategy and the main results of safety, clinical efficacy and impact of the heterologous scheme of Soberana 02 and Soberana Plus (protein subunit vaccines) administered with high coverage and reach to the child Cuban population.	María Eugenia Toledo
17:00	17:10	10 min	Situation in Peruvian hospitals during the pandemic The Peruvian health system collapsed during the first two epidemic waves of the SARS-COV-2. Primary health centers were closed so all COVID-19 cases were referred to hospitals that caused overcrowding and lack of care of other acute or chronic conditions. Several other key issues such as the lack of accurate diagnostic tests and insufficient production and distribution of oxygen in hospitals caused Peru to have the highest COVID-19 mortality rate of the world.	Coralith Garcia
17:10	17:20	10 min	Telemonitoring of COVID-19 in Peru During the early months of the pandemic in Peru, a group of volunteer researchers and developers designed and implemented an mHealth solution for remote monitoring of COVID-19 patients in Lima, Peru. This talk will describe how a multidisciplinary work and the use of basic artificial intelligence provided an important flexibility to the system, to adapt to changing pandemic scenarios. In addition, the lessons learned with this experience will be discussed, including the barriers and opportunities encountered and the potential for future use of this system in other health areas and research.	Fiorella Krapp Lopez
17:20	17:30	10 min	Vaccine research in Peru: the CureVac trial We will discuss the challenges and lessons learned from conducting a large randomized placebo controlled vaccine trial during the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru. We will discuss the future perspectives of clinical research in the region, the ethical, regulatory and logistic challenges.	Theresa Ochoa
17:30	18:00	30 min	Panel discussion	Rodrigo Henriquez Trujillo, Tine Verdonck, Gert van der Auwera
18:00	20:00	120 min	Reception

07/12 - Day 2

Morning 8:15 - 8:50

Start time	End time	Duration	Activity	Chair & speakers
8:15	8:45	30 min	Registration and coffee
8:45	8:50	5 min	Introduction

Session 3 09:50 - 10:40
COVID-19 in Asia

Start time	End time	Duration	Activity	Chair & speakers
8:50	9:10	20 min	Overview of COVID-19 in Asia Heterogeneity, a fundamental feature of Asia shaped the many hues of pandemic response in the continent. In this presentation I will look at this heterogeneity through three interconnecting lenses. A lens that is socio-cultural, highlighting societal engagement with those in power in Asia and how this helped or hindered national response. Linked to that is the political status and the trust in government lens which could create the needed space for public health measures to work and finally the developmental and economical lens, pointing the spectrum that Asian countries have and how that shaped the pandemic response. Within these lenses, I will attempt to bring issues such as innovation, the ageing society, rise of the social media in shaping the outcome of response and where Asia did well as a continent and where it collectively failed as a continent when it came to controlling COVID-19 pandemic.	Nima Asgari-Jirhandeh
9:10	9:25	15 min	CAMBODIA: Epidemiology, Response and Lessons learned This review describes the COVID-19 epidemiology and lessons learned from the COVID-19 responses in Cambodia. We analyzed the national COVID-19 database and reviewed literature between January 27, 2020, and June 30, 2022. This review describes COVID-19 epidemiology in Cambodia; the importance of contact tracing, individual behavior, and risk communication to prevent SARS-CoV-2 spread; challenges in implementing domestic travel restrictions; coping strategies for the sudden spate of COVID-19 cases, and strategies for a successful vaccination campaign. We concluded that Cambodia successfully contained the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the first year and quickly attained high vaccine coverage by the second year of the response. The core of this success was the strong political will and participation from the people. However, Cambodia needs to improve its medical infrastructure to isolate cases, control epidemics, and further develop its human resources and laboratory capacity.	Srean Chhim and Ir Por
9:25	9:40	15 min	INDIA: Diverse experience of COVID-19 in India with focus on vulnerable communities in southern India Drawing from direct experience in supporting culturally safe COVID-19 care for Adivasi (indigenous) communities in southern India and indirect experiences from supporting health systems at district and state level with care for poor urban immigrants in cities, Prashanth will outline the diversity of experiences of COVID-19 in southern India. He will then reflect upon what this diversity of experience of the same pandemic to different regions, populations, neighborhoods and individuals means in terms of strengthening the need for wide participation in shaping the direction of health systems and policies. He will also discuss the role of creating and building learning sites where academia. Professionals and communities could build trustful partnerships that help us better navigate the uncertainties that pandemics/crises create.	Prashanth N Srinivas
9:40	9:55	15 min	NEPAL: Epidemiology and health sector response to COVID-19 in Nepal Nepal reported the first case of COVID-19 on 23 January 2020. My presentation will cover the epidemiological situation of COVID-19 between January 2020 and November 2022, capacity building on increasing diagnostic facilities, vaccination rollout and policy response of the Government of Nepal in particular the Ministry of Health and Population, Government of Nepal. At the end, I will summarize lessons learnt from COVID-19 pandemic for preparing future pandemic.	Meghnath Dhimal
9:55	10:10	15 min	INDONESIA: Health Systems Response to COVID-19 in Indonesia and the role of Academia The COVID-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented test of health systems worldwide, including in low- and middle-income countries, like Indonesia. As of 17 August 2022, the Government of Indonesia reported a cumulative number of 6 297 484 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 157 296 deaths and 6 087 056 recovered cases from 514 districts across 34 provinces. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has put academic institutions In Indonesia on the frontlines of politics. Difficult decisions are being made every day to manage imminent threats and determine how to keep the public informed about what is happening. Thus, how academic institutions generate and transfer knowledge to the real world is absolutely critical for navigating the pandemic.	Yodi Mahendradhata
10:10	10:40	30 min	Panel discussion	Henk Bekedam, Nima Asgari-Jirhandeh and Willem van de Put
10:40	11:10	30 min	Coffee Break Poster viewing

Session 4 11:15 - 13:00
Pandemic data management, sharing and translation

Start time	End time	Duration	Activity	Chair & speakers
11:15	11:40	25 min	Epidemic in Belgium and Europe: impact of measures With emphasis on 2020 and 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium in particular and Europe in general will be sketched, in terms of key metrics that have been followed, such as confirmed infections, estimated total number of infections, positivity ratio, hospitalizations, ICU occupancy, COVID-19 reported mortality, and excess mortality. The impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions as well as vaccines will be discussed, at national level, at a finer geographical scale, as well as for specific sectors, such as healthcare and education.	Geert Molenberghs
11:40	11:55	15 min	unCoVer (Unravelling data for rapid evidence-based response to COVID-19) unCoVer is a Horizon 2020-funded network of 29 partners from 18 countries capable of collecting and using real-world data (RWD) derived from the response and provision of care to patients with COVID-19 by health systems across Europe and elsewhere. From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, partners have currently access to information from more than 40,000 hospitalized COVID19 patients with continuous updates. These heterogeneous datasets are described, harmonised and integrated into a multi-user data repository operated through Opal-DataSHIELD, an interoperable open-source server application. Federated data analyses, without sharing or disclosing any individual-level data, are performed with the objective to reveal patients’ baseline characteristics, biomarkers, determinants of COVID-19 prognosis, safety and effectiveness of treatments, and potential strategies against COVID-19, as well as epidemiological patterns.	José Peñalvo
11:55	12:10	15 min	MOOD: MOnitoring Outbreak events for Disease surveillance: Trouble in the science-policy interface: insights from scientists and decision-makers on national COVID-19 response management in Finland and France Existing and ad hoc scientific advisory boards in various formats were established to inform the COVID-19 response nationally and internationally. In this talk we will present the results of a study conducted as part of the EU-funded MOOD project that aimed to gain insight in how scientific evidence, notably those originating from mathematical modelling, has guided the COVID-19 response, and the interactions between stakeholders involved. We held a notable number of interviews with experts appointed to formal national advisory committees of Finland and France, media personalities, as well as high-level national decision-makers. Hence we identified a series of controversies and possible improvements of the so-called science-policy interface for future pandemic response management in Europe and elsewhere.	Esther van Kleef
12:10	12:25	20 min	COVID19 as a social disease: qualitative community-based study among racialized/ethnic minorities in Antwerp This qualitative study assessed COVID-19 prevention needs, coping with COVID-19 control measures and their perceived impact among diverse ethnic minority communities in Antwerp/Belgium (N=71; 05/2020-05/2021). Intertwined structural, socio-economic and ethnic/racial factors determined participants’ response and coping with COVID-19. Communities demonstrated resilience in responding to COVID-19 through community-led initiatives complementing public health measures. Our findings call for collecting granular data and disaggregated by ethnicity to inform tailored interventions, and to incorporate a health equity perspective into pandemic response, building on community participation.	Christiana Noestlinger
12:30	13:00	30 min	Panel discussion on sharing and use of data for pandemic response	Geert Molenberghs, Esther Van Kleef

Noon 13:00 - 14:00

Start time	End time	Duration	Activity	Chair & speakers
13:00	14:00	60 min	Lunch Poster Viewing

Session 5 14:00 - 15:15
Contribution of young researchers

Start time	End time	Duration	Activity	Chair & speakers
14:00	14:05	5 min	Perspectives on Sustainable health and multisectoral collaborations in Uganda in the COVID-19 response	Rawlance Ndejjo
14:05	14:10	5 min	Exploring children’s knowledge of COVID-19 and stress associated with the pandemic in Nigeria: a mixed-method study	Osamagbe Asemota
14:10	14:15	5 min	COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance in the Democratic Republic of Congo: a Cross-Sectional Survey	Armand Mutwadi
14:15	14:20	5 min	Inequality in COVID vaccination and factors affecting it in Nepal	Mandira Lamichhane Dhimal
14:25	14:30	5 min	SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Seroprevalence after the second epidemic wave in Kinshasa, DR. Congo	Yannick Munyeku
14:30	14:35	5 min	Materno-fetal outcomes of COVID-19 infected pregnant women at the Douala Gynaeco-Obstetric and Pediatric Hospital – Cameroon	Alphonse Ngalame
14:35	14:40	5 min	Feasibility and acceptability of integrating mobile phone SMS into antenatal, maternity, postnatal and preschool consultations to improve mothers' access to health information in the Covid-19 Context: Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial in Lubumbashi, DRC	Angele Musau
14:40	14:45	5 min	Reasons and factors related to Covid19 vaccine hesitancy among health care workers: a qualitative study in two conflicted Regions of Cameroon	Adalbert Tchetchia
14:45	14:50	5 min	Factors associated with co-existence of COVID-19 cases in households in Ouagadougou	Mahugnon Christian Urlyss Agossou
14.50	14.55	5 min	Use of GIS in Kenya’s response to COVID-19: vulnerability indices	Peter Macharia
14:55	15:00	5 min	Community based Detection of Covid-19 infection – Innovation of Colorimetric Sensing Device using exhaled breath of COVID19 Patients: Quick, cost effective and Non-Invasive Diagnostic Device.	Thomas Toms

Session 6 15:15 - 18:00
COVID-19 Diagnostics Vaccines and Medicines

Start time	End time	Duration	Activity	Chair & speakers
15:15	15:30	15 min	COVAX – the “only global solution” to vaccine equity? COVAX was launched in 2020 as the “only global solution” to ending the Covid-19 pandemic. COVAX promised to do so by supporting the rapid development and pooled procurement and distribution of vaccines to “accelerate” global vaccine equity. Storeng will analyse COVAX as a global public-private partnership of unprecedented scale and complexity that, by design, afford disproportionate power to wealthy governments and the pharmaceutical industry. She will explain how its branding as the “only global solution” foreclosed other policy alternatives, and critically interrogate its COVAX’s claims to success as the largest vaccination campaign in history.	Katerini Storeng
15:30	15:45	15 min	Redesigning our medical innovation ecosystem to deliver health technologies as common goods Brought into the spotlight through the AIDS drugs access crisis 25 years ago, people all over the world have since faced challenges in accessing lifesaving medicines or vaccines that were either not available where and when needed, or inaccessible due to excessive pricing, or simply not developed. Long considered a problem of poor people in developing countries, unaffordable health technologies, access inequities and R&D gaps are now a global challenge. That it was possible to develop multiple effective Covid-19 vaccines in less than a year, while at the same time sustaining extreme inequities during the biggest health crisis of our lifetime, calls for transformative change in the health innovation and access ecosystem. Building on this experience, we can start delignating the essential building blocks for a health innovation ecosystem that fosters collective intelligence, technology sharing, and delivering critical health technologies as common goods.	Els Torreele
15:45	16:00	15 min	Local Production as a way to improve access to COVID-19 vaccines and beyond: strengths and barriers Starting from COVID-19 lessons, we show both a current and future state of regional vaccine manufacturing in Africa. With the 2040 ambition of the African Union as the kick-off point, we illustrate how a manufacturing setup can look like with respect to different vaccines for various diseases. Finally, we describe manufacturing as a subsystem of a larger system, inducing several requirements on related subsystems. The latter is crucial in order to reach the ultimate goals of the immunization system: the desired health outcome(s) in terms of the intended immunization levels.	Nico Vandaele
16:00	16:30	30 min	Coffee break Poster viewing
16:30	16:55	25 min	The African perspective on COVID-19 diagnostics and vaccines	Dr. Ahmed Ogwell Ouma
16:55	17:10	15 min	The African perspective on COVID-19 medicines	Dr. Michel Sidibé
17:10	17:20	10 min	Adress by Heidy Rombouts	Heidy Rombouts
17:20	17:50	30 min	Panel discussion with speakers and audience	Marc-Alain Widdowson, Jean Van Wetter, Dr. Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, Els Torreele, Katerini Storeng & Heidy Rombouts

Closure 18:00 - 20:00

Start time	End time	Duration	Activity	Chair & speakers
18:00	20:00	120 min	Closure + reception	Marc-Alain Widdowson

Rewatch the 63rd ITM Colloquium

Session 1

Session 2

Session 3

Session 4

Session 5

Session 6

State of the art

State of the art

Speakers

Marc-Alain Widdowson

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Emmanuel Bottieau

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Wim Van Damme

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Steve Ahuka Mundeke

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Placide Mbala Kingebeni

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Joule Madinga

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Esther van Kleef

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Javier Silva Valencia

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Isidore Tiandiogo TRAORE

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Waasila Jassat

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Alexandre Delamou

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Faustin Chenge

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Kéfilath Bello

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Aline Semaan

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KHOSO MUAKA César-Augustin

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Marie Meudec

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Veerle Van Lerberghe

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Kevin Ariën

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Pieter Pannus

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Rodrigo Henríquez

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Tine Verdonck

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Gabriel da Luz Wallau

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Armando Humberto Seuc Jo

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Victor Vega

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Larissa Otero

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Stefanie Dens

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Claudia Nieto-Sanchez

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Yanaris López Almaguer

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Maria Eugenia Toledo Romani

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Coralith Garcia

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Fiorella Krapp-Lopez

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Theresa J. Ochoa

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Gert Van der Auwera

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Henk Bekedam

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Nima Asgari

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Srean Chhim

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Prashanth N Srinivas

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Meghnath Dhimal

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Yodi Mahendradhata

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Willem van de Put

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Geert Molenberghs

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José L. Penalvo

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Christiana Nöstlinger

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Raffaella Ravinetto

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Katerini T. Storeng

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Els Torreele

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Nico Vandaele

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Ahmed Ogwell

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Michel Sidibé

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Heidy Rombouts

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Jean Van Wetter

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ITM COLLOQUIUM 2022: GLOBAL EXCHANGE ON COVID-19

The ITM Colloquium gathers our partner institutions, our students, staff and alumni, as well as invited researchers. Together we will share expertise and knowledge on the COVID-19 pandemic and its heterogeneity, discuss the evidence and try to interpret the various courses of the epidemics. We will also zoom in on the effect of different containments policies, the access and implementation of diagnostics, therapy and vaccines as well as the direct and indirect effects of COVID-19 on the health systems and societies.

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