June 14, 2025

Excellencies, Honourable Ministers,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

all protocols observed,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

it is an honour for me to take the floor

on the occasion of the Clinical
Trials Partnership Forum

between Europe and Developing Countries.

Allow me first of all to convey to you

the warm, fraternal and cordial greetings

of the President
of the Republic of Guinea,

His Excellency General Mamadi Doumbouya.

and to thank the Rwandan authorities

and the organisers of this session

for providing a platform to reflect

not only on the progress made,

but also on the transformation
that has taken place.

Ladies and gentlemen, for decades,

sleeping sickness
or human African trypanosomiasis

has been a devastating reality in Guinea.

It has robbed our families
of their loved ones,

our communities of their workforce,

and our country
of its health and productivity.

At its peak,

sleeping sickness
was considered a death sentence

in some parts of our country.

But today,

I'm proud to say that
this reality has changed.

In January 2025,

WHO announced that the Republic of Guinea

had eliminated sleeping sickness
as a public health problem.

And at the opening
of the World Health Assembly

held in Geneva last May,

I solemnly received,
on behalf of the Republic of Guinea,

the certificate of this elimination.

This success is the result
of close collaboration

between the Guinean authorities,
researchers,

international organisations
and local communities.

Ladies and gentlemen,

the elimination of sleeping sickness
in Guinea is no miracle.

It is the result
of several years of investment

in research, strong political will

and close collaboration between partners.

Thanks to these long-standing
collaborations

with key organisations such as DNDi,

we have been able
to advance research innovation

by helping patients

so that they receive affordable,

accessible and above all safe treatments.

Research and clinical trials
supported by this partnership

have been pivotal

in developing safer
and simpler diagnostic tools,

as well as shorter
and more effective treatments,

such as Fexinidazole and Acosiborol.

These innovations
have enabled health workers

to detect and treat patients
in remote communities

before the disease progresses.

But tools alone are not enough.

Our success was made possible

by Guinea's national commitment,

based on the implementation
of an innovative strategy

combining vector control,
screening campaigns,

robust surveillance systems,

the integration of sleeping sickness

into our primary healthcare strategy

and the mobilisation
of local health workers,

researchers and communities.

These efforts have been supported

by the Drugs for Neglected
Diseases initiative,

which has helped to improve
access to complex treatments

and identify new therapeutic solutions

alongside other partners such as the IRD,

Institut Pasteur, WHO and many others.

We have also benefited greatly
from South-South cooperation

by sharing our experiences and approaches

with neighbouring countries
facing the same challenges.

And now,
while we celebrate this milestone,

our journey does not end here.

Maintaining elimination
requires vigilance,

ongoing surveillance, community engagement

and sustained investment in research

to address the residual risks
of transmission.

We must remain proactive and reactive

in the face of new health threats
and evolving challenges.

Ladies and gentlemen,

the history of the Republic of Guinea
demonstrates what is possible

when research meets reality,

when science is translated
into concrete actions

and when countries themselves take
the lead in their elimination process.

We are proud of what we have achieved

and remain committed
to supporting other nations

that are still on the path.

Thank you for your attention

and for your continued commitment

to making sleeping sickness

and all neglected tropical
diseases an evil of the past.

Thank you.