Advocacy for the control of disabling tropical diseases : Report of a brainstorming meeting, Annecy, France, January 1998

In disease control, priority usually goes to those diseases that kill. Disabling tropical diseases are often given low priority. In January 1998, a brainstorming meeting was held to generate new ideas on how to find more effective ways to advocate for the control of disabling tropical diseases. The meeting brought together participants from a wide variety of backgrounds and experience - from governments, industry, donors, the arts, banks, communications, NGOs and marketing. This report presents the ideas generated at the meeting. The sections of the report include advocacy and marketing, examples of WHO approaches to advocacy, target audiences, and communicating messages. The main conclusions and research issues are summarised, and a list of participants is given.