Global WACh

March 20, 2025

Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) collaborators convene in Kenya for pediatric diarrheal disease research


The Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) Shigella surveillance study held its annual convening from January 27-30 in Lake Naivasha, Kenya. Over sixty collaborators from around the world gathered to collectively workshop primary manuscripts, and plan for the next phase of the study (“Phase C”) which will focus on results dissemination, supporting secondary data analyses, and conducting implementation research to characterize policy-maker priorities for Shigella vaccine adoption.

Representatives from EFGH’s seven country sites and coordinating partner sites attended. In addition, representatives from the Gates Foundation and World Health Organization attended.

 

In alignment with the EFGH Consortium’s commitments to advancing power sharing, consensus building, and promoting more equal partnerships in research, UW coordination organized a panel discussion around the theme: ““How do we leverage are our respective powers, positionality, and spheres of influence to advance global health equity and foster healthy partnerships in research?” The goals of the panel discussion were to provide a  space for perspective sharing, collective learning, and open discussion among collaborators in response to an overarching question:  Pre-reading of recent decolonization literature and perspectives (scroll to the bottom for a list) was assigned to establish a shared baseline understand of themes, topics, and vocabulary and an anonymous Q&A forum was set up. Panelists were selected to represent a range perspectives and positionalities, and included:

  • Farah Qamar (Pakistan Site PI, Aga Khan University)
  • Margaret Kosek (Peru Site PI, University of Virginia)
  • Richard Omore (Kenya Site PI, Kenya Medical Research Institute)
  • Heidi van Rooyen (Chair, Department of Global Health, University of Washington)
  • Kirk Tickell (Coordination Team Co-I, University of Washington)
  • Annelies Wilder-Smith (Team Lead, Vaccine Development, World Health Organization)

Key takeaways from the panel included continuing to push for shifting resources and decision-making to the Global South, increased transparency around funding processes, the need for diversification of funding sources and funding flows, a call for the prioritization of community-oriented and accessible translation of research findings, and highlighting research consortiums as critical models to promoting partnerships and evidence strengthening.

Running parallel to the main session, 11 junior researchers who participated in the 16-month long Manuscript-Writing Program gathered for break-out sessions dedicated to writing and revision of their individual manuscripts, as well as professional development topics including journal submission processes and academic conference preparation. Cohort members presented their research projects in a culminating poster session and reflected positively on the program experience. One researcher said,

“It’s given me confidence and self-esteem, like how well you think you can do things in a more autonomous and independent way.  And that’s a huge step in my career development. Before this program I didn’t know how to do that.  I just watched the team do it and didn’t know how they did it.  Now I can think of a topic, look for information on it, and develop a research protocol based on the gaps.”

The UW Coordination Team and Nyanja Health Research Institute will support the cohort members through the next stage of submitting their manuscripts for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

The EFGH convening served as a time to celebrate the accomplishments and reflect on progress of the study as the EFGH consortium now looks forward to its next phase.

Pre-Reading List Appendix