The Vaccine Impact on Diarrhoea in Africa (VIDA) meeting is scheduled from 23 to 27 January 2016 at MRC Unit The Gambia. The meeting will attract over 37 international participants, which includes funders, collaborators and Scientist and investigators from Center for Vaccine Development (CVD), University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), CVD-Mali, CDC-Kenya, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention and University of Washington, ISAC members from University of Virginia, CDC of USA, University of Washington, University of Ghana and icddr,b- Knowledge for global lifesaving solutions, Consultants from CDC Barcelona Institute for Global Health and University of Virginia, Data management team from EMMES Corporation, USA funders and advisors from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Programe for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), and VIDA investigators from The Gambia.
The RV vaccine was introduced in The Gambia in August 2013 as RV was found to be the most common germ causing diarrhoea in The Gambia. The VIDA project started in May 2015 at the MRC Unit The Gambia. The project is ongoing in collaboration with CVD, University of Maryland, Baltimore. The study is expected to run for the next 4 years. The purpose of the study is to assess the incidence and burden of diarrhoea for under five children and to determine the effectiveness of RV vaccine.

The purpose of the meeting is to assess the overall progress and to ensure the quality of the study at the three African sites; The Gambia, Mali and Kenya. The forum will facilitate the understanding of the public health burden of Rotavirus (RV) and the effectiveness of RV vaccine to prevent childhood diarrhoea and associated deaths. The meeting will be used as a platform for collaborators to share with the wider scientific communities research achievements and successes with the RV vaccine.

Read more about diarrhoea research at the MRC Unit The Gambia on our website on
http://www.mrc.gm/continuing-the-fight-against-childhood-diarrhoeal-dis…
http://www.mrc.gm/continuing-the-fight-against-childhood-diarrhoeal-dis…