We are an International Multi-Organizational Coalition addressing gaps in the prevention, prompt diagnosis and management of AIDS globally.
Our Story
Let’s End AIDS Now.
We are a multi-institution, international organisation
Story video
Our
Achievements
We are an international, multi-organizational coalition that addresses gaps in the prevention, prompt diagnosis and management of AIDS globally.
In no particular order, our members belong to internationally renowned global health organisations including but not limited to:
St George’s University of London (SGUL)
Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)
Médecins Sans Frontières Access Campaign (MSF)
The World Health Organisation (WHO)
National Institute for Communicable Diseases South Africa (NICD)
Global Action for Fungal Infections (GAFFI)
University of Minnesota
The London School of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene (LSHTM)
O’Neill Institute
Georgetown University
Duke University
Institut Pasteur
Aurum Institute
Elizabeth Glazer Paediatric Foundation (EGPAF)
Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI)
Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi)
Unitaid
U.S President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)
USAID
Ministries of Health
Access to Key Tests & Essential Medicines
In partnership with MSF’s Access Campaign, the WHO and the Fight AIDS Coalition, lobbying manufacturers for improved access to essential tests and medicines including CD4 tests (the portal of entry for effective implementation of WHO-recommended advanced HIV disease packages of care), flucytosine and Amphotericin B.
The life-saving medicines flucytosine and amphotericin B have been added to the WHO Essential Medicine List.
Partners
Creating a successful and impactful forum with global health partners (implementing partners, Ministries of Health, local health leaders, civil society, expert organisations, academic partners, global funders etc) to informally discuss and action updates, ideas and solutions on ending AIDS related deaths.
Advocacy Pieces
High impact editorials published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Journalistic pieces published & BBC interview on cryptococcal meningitis, a largely neglected common cause of HIV-related deaths in African and South East Asian low- and middle- income countries.
Key Actions
CryptoMAG, alongside other stakeholders, lobbied Unitaid to improve access to essential tests and medicines for cryptococcal meningitis and help scale up preventative cryptococcal screening programmes and proven WHO-recommended treatment regimens for confirmed cases.
The Drug for Neglected Diseases initiative ‘DNDi’ responded to CryptoMAG calls and is coordinating a programme of work to develop a slow-release formulation of the life-saving medicine flucytosine.
Previously CryptoMAG lobbied Policy Cures Research for inclusion of cryptococcal meningitis in their G Finder report; cryptococcal meningitis has now featured in the G-Finder report since 2013.
Lastly, an application was submitted by CryptoMAG for the since successful inclusion of cryptococcal meningitis to the FDA Priority Review Voucher docket list of Tropical Diseases which qualify for the FDA Priority Review Voucher Program.
2019-2023 Unitaid/CHAI Advanced HIV Disease programme
Our Values
Action
We are a humanitarian-and action-driven, largely unfunded ‘coalition of the willing’ focused on ending preventable and unacceptable AIDS deaths.
Equity
We are justice-and equity-led in our efforts to obtain sustainable access to key tests and medicines (e.g. the life-saving medicine flucytosine for cryptococcal meningitis) to save lives in low- and middle- income countries.
Collaboration
We create a neutral, open and collaborative space for global health partners to freely discuss key updates and agree on items that require collective input (e.g. securing access to CD4 testing in low- and middle-income countries). We have long understood that no individual partner or programme of work can surmount the challenges faced in ending deaths from AIDS.
Education
We provide in-depth overviews of disease areas (cryptococcosis, histoplasmosis, pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia etc.) with a particular focus on gaps and actionable items that can then be moved forward by our partners either individually or collectively.
Our Team
Our diverse team is drawn from internationally renowned global health organisations and led by:
Angela Loyse
Chair & Lead
Angela has chaired and led the advocacy group cryptoMAG since 2013. She launched the End AIDS Action Group in 2023 acknowledging the importance of tackling AIDS head on; including the need to break down siloes between different disease areas and explore synergies within advocacy efforts across continents. Angela aims to create a neutral and action-orientated space for global health stakeholders from diverse backgrounds to debate latest updates, exchange information and come together as needed on agreed advocacy action points. She is passionate about locally led, patient-centred health system strengthening as a path to end AIDS deaths.
Amanda Banda
Civil Society Lead
Amanda Banda has over 16 years experience leading or providing program management and technical advocacy support nationally and globally, to influence Global Health Initiatives. She has supported international non-governmental organisations, academia, clinicians, and civil society’s engagement with global health initiatives, governments, ministries and multilateral donors on HIV, TB, COVID-19, health systems, diagnostics, health financing, human resources for health and intersectional SRHR. With a backgrounds in International Relations, Politics and Global Health Policy she has worked for Georgetown University’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, The Global Fund, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Wemos and AVAC, amongst others.
Nelesh Govender
Public Health Lead & Founding Member of CryptoMAG
Nelesh Govender is a medical epidemiologist and pathologist at South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases. Through public health surveillance, clinical trials and advocacy, he works to reduce deaths caused by AIDS-related fungal and bacterial infections among people living with HIV in Africa.
David Meya
Infectious Disease physician and Clinical Investigator, HIV related meningitis
Prof David Meya is an Associate Professor in the School of Medicine at the College of Health Sciences, Makerere University and holds an appointment as adjunct Professor at the University of Minnesota. He has been involved in clinical research of central nervous system infections and complications, with a focus on HIV Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), an often deadly complication of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in persons living with AIDS with opportunistic infections such as cryptococcal meningitis and tuberculosis. Prof Meya leads epidemiological and translational research studies, national and multinational randomised clinical trials in collaboration with colleagues from around the World.
Rita Oladele
Histoplasmosis and Mycology Lead
Rita Oladele, MBBS, FMCPath, FRCPath, PhD, FECMM President, Medical Mycology Society of Nigeria
Chair, Pan Africa Mycology Working Group, An Associate Professor of Medical Microbiology at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos.
With over 15 years’ experience as a clinical microbiologist. Trained over 850 health care workers in Nigeria on diagnosis and management of cryptococcal meningitis. Also coordinated the training of over 300 health care workers on the diagnosis and management of disseminated histoplasmosis in the Advanced HIV disease population.
With over 15 years’ experience as a clinical microbiologist. Trained over 850 health care workers in Nigeria on diagnosis and management of cryptococcal meningitis. Also coordinated the training of over 300 health care workers on the diagnosis and management of disseminated histoplasmosis in the Advanced HIV disease population.
End AIDS Action Group Launched
Significant progress to improve access to essential tests and medicines for cryptococcal meningitis has been made in the last decade; however, we are falling short of what is needed to end preventable and unacceptable deaths from AIDS.
The End AIDS Action Group will expand the focus of CryptoMAG to encompass additional opportunistic infections (pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia, histoplasmosis, talaromyces etc.) forming and strengthening networks of advocates across continents.
No group or programme can alone successfully end AIDS so we will continue to collaborate and enhance synergies between stakeholders to help speed up the work, creating and acting on new perspectives.’