Successful “Re-inventing Adherence: Patient-centered care for drug-resistant TB/HIV" Symposium held at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health

29 March 2015

CAPRISA and Columbia Mailman School of Public Health co-hosted a two-day Drug-resistant TB/HIV Adherence symposium in New York from 19-20 March. Dr Nesri Padayatchi CAPRISA’s Deputy Director played an integral role as an organiser, co-host and co-chair of the meeting. Day one highlighted many of the challenges at the forefront of the drug-resistant TB/HIV syndemic, recent epidemiologic and behavioural research on adherence in co-infected patients, potential ways in which adherence can be challenged and enhanced using successes from the HIV epidemic and a WHO perspective on patient-centered care in drug-resistant TB. Day two continue with a roundtable discussion framing an urgent agenda around adherence and patient-centered care which includes biomedical approaches, but also importantly social and behavioural aspects of drug-resistant TB/HIV in addition to operational, advocacy and research gaps.

The event was a huge success thanks to the strong and diverse turnout of symposium speakers, discussants and panellists that included high-profile specialists in infectious diseases, clinical and epidemiologic research and social and behavioural experts as well as the drug resistance policy task manager at the Global TB Programme of the WHO and a representative from the advocacy organization, Treatment Action Group. 

Left to right: Dr David Bangsberg, Dr Max O’Donnell, Dr Nesri Padayatchi and Dr Ernesto Caramillo