The webinar took place on International Women’s Day 2021 to highlight the importance of having women working in and leading research on neglected tropical diseases, particularly in endemic countries.
STOP project team member, Dr Stella Kepha, researcher at the Kenya Medical Research Institute of Kenya, joined five other panellists, including the Director of Control of NTD at the WHO, Dr Mwelecele Ntuli Malecela, to discuss challenges and barriers for African women in NTD research and health.
“We had a very good webinar, with lots of positive feedback,” says Stella Kepha. “We all agreed that the current generation of women in science have the opportunity to give women a voice through the research we conduct, and the responsibility to mentor younger women,” she adds.
The webinar took place on March 8, International Women’s Day, and was organised by the Global Schistosomiasis Alliance (GSA), Coalition for Operational Research on Neglected Tropical Diseases (COR-NTD), SCI Foundation (SCIF) and the International Society for Neglected Tropical Diseases (ISNTD).