Tuberculosis remains a major global health threat to individuals, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and Asia. With increasing advances in technologies and discoveries, it was and is imperative for scientific minds to come together and fight TB.
Initially scheduled to take place in Kampala, Uganda, the 
latest SIMPLICI-TB scientific meeting was held in Cape Town, South Africa. In this beautiful coastal city, with the Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean in view, the Uganda Case Western Reserve University Research Collaboration (UCRC) team led by Prof. Harriet Mayanja-Kiiza in partnership with the University of St. Andrews, UK and the TASK team at University of Cape Town hosted the event at the Protea Seapoint hotel by Mariott. UCRC team members included Dr. Pheona Nsubuga, Dr.Mary Nsereko, Dr. Muwanguzi Timothy and Dr. Mukisa John. Other Ugandan team members included Dr. Willy Ssengooba, Prof. Moses Joloba, Mr.Kairu (Medical and Molecular Laboratories), and Dr. Joanitah Nalunjogi (Makerere Lung Institute).
The meeting was graced by a keynote speech by the European and Developing countries trials partnership (EDTCP) executive director, Dr. Micheal Makanga, who highlighted the great efforts by the funding community to end TB. He also noted that the TB alliance and PanACEA consortia have been instrumental in the generation of new knowledge about new TB drugs, clinical trial design, trial monitoring and evaluation, and community engagement. He noted that the EDTCP3 is committed to ending TB and other neglected tropical diseases, capacity building and consolidating the many years of investment on the African continent
We discussed the latest TB trials like the PARADIGM TB, OPTIRIMOX, and the cutting-edge best practices for clinical trials management, community engagement, grant management, and capacity building.
As a site, we left energized with new networks and knowledge to work with willing partners to end TB in Uganda and beyond. Our great thanks go to the EDTCP for funding our travel and projects, and we look forward to future engagements.
