Uniting to Combat NTDs regularly holds webinars for our partner network, designed to keep partners informed, share useful resources, and allow space for collaboration and feedback. Here you can find slides and remarks from the webinar held on 20 March 2025.
07 April 2025
Download the slides from the meeting
Welcome remarks from Dr Isatou Touray, Executive Director, Uniting to Combat NTDs
"Good morning/afternoon, everyone. Welcome to Uniting’s first partner webinar of 2025. Thank you all for joining us today, and thank you, as always, for your continued partnership.
For anyone I haven’t had the opportunity to meet yet, I’m Dr. Isatou Touray, Executive Director of Uniting to Combat NTDs.
Before we start, I want to acknowledge the extremely difficult circumstances we find ourselves in as we begin this year. Recent large-scale funding cuts to global health and foreign aid, particularly from the United States, have had severe consequences for NTD programmes worldwide. Many communities face the prospect of losing access to critical interventions and lifesaving treatments, creating uncertainty, confusion, and fear among those we seek to support.
We recognise that these developments have created significant disruption, and we share your concerns about the profound impacts this will have on individuals and communities at risk of NTDs.
Now more than ever, it is vital that we stand together, share solutions, and demonstrate solidarity and mutual support. In the face of these challenges, collaboration is critical—we must work collectively to identify creative solutions, help fill gaps, support each other and ensure continued progress wherever possible.
Uniting is committed to supporting the global NTD community wherever possible in navigating these challenging times.
During today’s webinar, our team will also provide updates on recent activities and priorities and share details about how Uniting has been responding behind the scenes to these urgent challenges.
We are also pleased to welcome Jodie Curtis, co-chair of the U.S. Roundtable, to the webinar. Jodie will discuss how the recent cuts in U.S. funding are impacting global NTD efforts, and outline current advocacy actions.
Thank you again for your incredible dedication, particularly in this period of unprecedented uncertainty. Your resilience, commitment, and tireless work continue to inspire us.
We look forward to today’s discussion and to continuing our collective efforts to protect the hard-won gains in the fight against NTDs."
