On the occasion of their state visit to Angola, the King and Queen of Spain held a meeting in Angola with researchers from the tropical diseases and international health team of the Infectious Diseases group of the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR), coordinated by Dr. Israel Molina. The group has been working in the African country for more than 15 years with research projects aimed at the control of infectious diseases. The meeting was also attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, the Spanish Ambassador in Luanda, Manuel María Lejarreta, and other members of the Spanish delegation.

During the meeting, the relevance and impact of the projects carried out by the group in Angola were discussed. Vall d'Hebron has been carrying out research and development projects in the country for 15 years and the group's interest has focused mainly on infectious diseases with a special focus on tuberculosis, malaria and the so-called neglected tropical diseases.

Currently, in addition to these topics, two projects funded by the European Union are being developed: the CRESCER Project, on prevention of chronic malnutrition in southern Angola, and the FUTURO project, which addresses Sexual and Reproductive Health in young people. The studies are coordinated by Dr. Elena Trigo and Dr. Marisa Aznar, respectively.

The meeting also highlighted the difficulty of carrying out research in a context such as sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the enormous difficulty of accessing research funds for such diseases, which, being a group of pathologies linked to poverty, do not arouse the interest of either the academic or private world.