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WCM-Q joins elite global research group investigating STIs

Professor Laith Abu-Raddad, professor of healthcare policy and research, will be leading the WCM-Q component of the project.
Professor Laith Abu-Raddad, professor of healthcare policy and research, will be leading the WCM-Q component of the project.

Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) has been awarded funding by a major UK trust to join efforts to reduce global prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

The UK-based Wellcome Trust, as part of a pan-European initiative called Europe and Global Challenges, in partnership with the Volkswagen Foundation and the Swedish Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, has awarded €891,000 ($967,000) to an international team of six leading research institutions that will collaborate to investigate the most effective ways that public policy can help to control STIs.

The initiative will have a particular focus on the health of refugees and migrants in selected countries of the Middle East and North Africa, West Asia, and Europe. The international team of research organizations comprises Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, University College London, the University of Bern in Switzerland, Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran, the Knowledge Utilisation and Community-based Participatory Research Center in Iran, and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

Professor Laith Abu-Raddad, professor of healthcare policy and research, will be leading the WCM-Q component of the project, which will focus on mathematical modelling of the transmission of STIs and the epidemiology of STIs in the Middle East and North Africa. This component builds on a thriving program focused on studying the epidemiology of HIV and other STIs that has been built at WCM-Q over the past decade thanks to funding from Qatar National Research Fund.  

The aim of the project is to examine the relationship between drivers of STI epidemics and the policy options for their prevention and control. The project will use a variety of methodological approaches to develop an evidence-based conceptual framework of STI vulnerabilities, increase understanding of the impact of social inequality on STI prevalence, and review social and structural interventions that could be implemented to address these inequalities in different regions.

The project will also develop country- and issue-specific policy maps on drivers of STIs, assess the level of ‘acceptability’ of proposed policy options at the national and regional levels, and tailor policy options to specific national contexts. The project addresses several global health challenges and attends to the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Professor Abu-Raddad said: “It is a great privilege to be awarded funding and be part of such an international team of science leaders to address this neglected infection and disease burden. STIs reinforce social inequality and addressing them is a critical factor to improve public health and attain global sustainable development goals.”

Professor Khaled Machaca, associate dean for research, said: “The impact that Dr Abu-Raddad’s team is making on our understanding of STI transmission in the region in exceptional. Expanding those efforts in the context of an international consortium with funding from the Wellcome Trust speaks volumes to the quality of the research undertaken and its international visibility. In addition, the research will have important implications for Qatar’s capacity and programs in addressing infectious disease challenges.”