Using open science to maximize SDG impact – a case study on Chagas disease – STRINGS

It is no wonder that Chagas disease was included in the list of neglected tropical diseases by the World Health Organization in 2007 (WHO, 2020). Over 100 years have passed since Chagas was first discovered and there is still no appropriate solution to this problem, which mainly affects marginalized communities around the globe. Chagas constitutes a socio-environmental problem (Sanmartino, 2015) that interacts with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in addition to good health and wellbeing (SDG 3). For instance, education and access to information is key for prevention; better infrastructure, including roads and hospitals, is important for early detection and treatment; while changes in ecological systems, due to production activities and climate change, have moved the vector (i.e. the kissing bugs that may transmit the disease) towards new, frequently urban, areas.