24 October 2022 Articles

SIMBLE project partners meet in Cotonou

Immediately after the consortium meeting, the first batch of agar plates and blood culture bottles was produced.

The second, annual consortium meeting of the EDCTP SIMBLE project took place on 5 and 6 October.

A delegation from Belgium, Spain, Canada and Burkina Faso travelled to Cotonou in Benin to discuss the project’s progress in person. The other partners and work package leaders gave an update online. The programme also included a tour of the facilities of National Hospital and University Centre for Pulmonary Physiology (CNHU-PPC), our partner in Cotonou. The team visited the laboratory,the clinic, the sheep farm and the fully installed production facility. The production container was installed at the CHNU-PPC site after a long travel at sea. Immediately after the consortium meeting, the first batch of agar plates and blood culture bottles was produced.

Simplified Blood Culture System (SIMBLE)

With the SIMBLE project, we want to introduce better adapted diagnostics in Sub-Saharan Africa. To be effective and useful in tropical settings, diagnostic equipment needs to be 'tropicalised' (i.e., made resistant to dust, humidity and unreliable power supply). It should be affordable and easy for non-experts to purchase, maintain and use. Better adapted diagnostics will lead to better diagnosis and treatment.

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