Global Action For Fungal Infections (GAFFI)’s Post

From GAFFI, we would like to thank the organizers of INFOCUS 2024, [Jorge A. Cortés, @Beatriz L. Gómez, Carlos Arturo Alvarez-Moreno, Diego Hernando Caceres Contreras, German Camacho,Indira Berrio Medina, Laura Nocua, Arnaldo Colombo, Fabianne Carlesse, Flavio Queiroz-Telles] held in Bogotá, Colombia, for inviting us to participate in the event. The leaders of the projects we fund, in collaboration with the CDC’s Mycology Branch, presented the significant progress they have achieved. This includes a network for the rapid diagnosis of opportunistic infections in HIV patients in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a Fungal Disease Response Center in Santa Fe, Argentina. The network underway in four hospitals in Buenos Aires delivers same-day results, enabling immediate treatment of opportunistic infections or, alternatively, the initiation of antiretroviral therapy. The Fungal Disease Response Center serves a population of 1.5 million people and, within one year, has diagnosed 110 cases of severe fungal infections for which diagnosis was previously inaccessible. These two different models provide access to the rapid diagnosis and treatment of severe Fungal Disease and can serve as an inspiration for other settings to implement similar actions, reducing the morbidity and mortality caused by severe fungal infections. Bs As leaders’ team: Liliana Guelfand, Claudia Frola, Mariana Andreani  Santa Fe Leader: Guillermo Garcia Effron