Project News

With objectives of agreeing on project plans and discussing key issues on Chagas disease control, the first Meeting of the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) was held on May 19, 2008　with the participation of various personnel from the Ministry of Health of El Salvador, the Embassy of Japan, PAHO/WHO, the Salvadoran Red Cross, and the University of El Salvador. The objectives of the JCC are to review the project achievements, authorize the project plan, and to promote exchange of knowledge and experience among the participants. In the meeting, JICA experts explained objectives and key strategies of the Phase II project, and a representative of the Western region, where phase I was implemented, presented the achievements in the first phase of the project (2003–2007). Participants expressed their readiness to provide the support required to successfully develop the project. Finally, the JICA expert presented the proposed study on the threshold domestic infestation rate of Triatoma dimidiata. The next JCC is planned in 2009.