IRD, DNDi and Institut Pasteur de Guinée welcome the WHO validation for the elimination of sleeping sickness in Guinea

Despite health crises such as the 2013-2015 Ebola epidemic and the SARS-Cov2 pandemic, combined medical and vector control strategies have enabled Guinea to reach the threshold of eliminating sleeping sickness as a public health problem (less than one case per 10,000 inhabitants in the three endemic hotspots).

The Guinean Ministry of Health has received validation from the World Health Organization (WHO) for the elimination of HAT in the country in 2024, a year in which only 12 cases of HAT were diagnosed in the three endemic hotspots. This is the first neglected tropical disease (NTD) eliminated by Guinea, which becomes the 55th country to eliminate an NTD worldwide.

This Guinean success is attributable to a combination of key factors, including improved tsetse fly control, large-scale screening and awareness campaigns, and the development of new, safe and effective medicines.

The vector control strategy is based on a close partnership between IRD (Institut de la Recherche pour le Développement) researchers in Guinea and the National NTDs Control Programme (PNLMTN-PCC) led by Mamadou Camara, Coordinator of the National HAT Control Programme. The new treatments have been developed by the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) and its partners.

In this context, a day of celebration is being organized by the Republic of Guinea on Thursday, 30 January in Conakry, on the occasion of World NTD Day.

‘This is a fantastic news and a significant milestone in our collective effort to eliminate this terrible and neglected disease; Guinea now sees only a handful of cases – an outstanding and inspiring achievement, especially considering that Guinea had the largest sleeping sickness burden in West Africa and had been struggling with a huge resurgence after the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak.

We are now developing a new treatment called acoziborole, a promising medicine that will play a key role in maintaining this elimination. We should not be complacent: the disease can return if we lower our guard. We need adequate health tools to prevent a resurgence, including safe and effective medicines that are simple to distribute and administer,’ said Dr Luis Pizarro, Executive Director of DNDi, speaking at the announcement event in Conakry.

‘For nearly 20 years, Guinea has opted for an innovative strategy that combines medical and entomological control, and that is strongly supported by research activities carried out within the framework of the TrypaNo! project funded by the Gates Foundation. We have just reached an essential milestone, but these efforts must continue, as we aim at completely halting transmission by 2030,‘ said Jean-Mathieu Bart and Bruno Bucheton, respectively eco-epidemiologist and geneticist at the IRD (UMR Intertryp).

‘The efforts of Guinea, in particular those of its national control programme teams and partners, are now bearing fruit: this success is a tremendous step towards the elimination of a disease once considered a major scourge in Africa. The originality of the Guinean model, which has succeeded in effectively integrating training and translational biomedical research into disease control efforts, has become an inspiration for many other countries also committed to elimination,‘ said Brice Rotureau, Director of Research at Institut Pasteur and Director of the Parasitology Unit at Institut Pasteur de Guinée.

‘Team Europe celebrates this major milestone with partners and healthcare workers in Guinea. We are proud to have played an active role by investing in research on neglected diseases through EDCTP and Product Development Partnerships as well as through additional projects funded by the European Commission, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, France, Belgium, Norway, and Switzerland through TEI MAV+ and other Team Europe health initiatives. 

Investment in health is a long-term commitment to stability and well-being across borders. We must continue to work in partnership to promote universal health coverage, strengthen health systems and health security, fund research on neglected diseases, and remain vigilant until we succeed in our shared goal of eradicating sleeping sickness and other neglected diseases,’ said Jolita Pons, European Union Ambassador to Guinea. 

For all press inquiries, please contact the IRD, DNDi, or Pasteur Institute press officers. Pictures of these organizations’ research projects in Guinea, taken by professional photographers, are available to the press upon request.

A film is available here for further information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csdnYZIJXf8&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fdndi.org%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE

WHO's press release is available here: https://www.who.int/news/item/29-01-2025-guinea-eliminates-human-african-trypanosomiasis-as-a-public-health-problem