Description
Chagas disease is a major regional health challenge in Latin America and one of the most neglected diseases in the region. Yet, no regional intergovernmental organisation from Latin America has ever taken the lead on addressing Chagas disease or other neglected diseases. Instead, a global health governance organisation, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), has become the lead actor in developing a regional approach to Chagas disease in Latin America. Since its creation in 2003, the global public-private partnership DNDi has become the leading global health governance actor in tackling neglected diseases worldwide. In confronting Chagas disease, DNDi has played a prominent role in orchestrating a rare and distinctive regional governance model by connecting public health actors from different world regions (Europe and Latin America) and governance levels (global, international, regional and local), empowering a range of local actors (community organisations, patient organisations, public health institutes, research institutes) and ideas from Latin America, transcending the North-South divide and a highly fragmented governance landscape while at the same time challenging deeply entrenched neocolonial governance structures and neoliberal market-based ideologies in global health. This paper explores how DNDi has orchestrated this regional governance approach at the global-regional nexus and how DNDi's activities can help us better understand the links between global and regional (health) governance.
