Opening of National Schistosomiasis and STH laboratory in Niamey
plus presentation to SCI for work against poverty in Niger
 On the 29th
of September 2006 Niger’s Minister of Health, Hon Mahamane Kabaou and
the Director of SCI, Prof. Alan Fenwick officially opened the new
laboratory and office space in the presence of several international,
government and NGO representatives, including Niger’s Director of
Disease Control, Dr. Ali Djibo; Niger’s WHO representative, Dr René
Coddy; the director of CERMES (Institut Pasteur), Dr. Suzanne Chanteau;
ITI’s Country Representative, Mr. Mohamed Samna; Helen Keller’s Country
Director, Dr. Pierre Agdo-Adou; Burkina Faso’s National Schistosomiasis
and STH Country Coordinator (PNLSc), Dr. Seydou Touré; and several
representatives from other NGO’s (ie RISEAL) and government disease
control and education programmes.
 Prof. Alan Fenwick, SCI Director, gave a speech detailing the hard
work and success of Niger’s National Schistosomiasis and STH Control
Programme (PNLBG) in delivering more than 4 million treatments in Niger
in two years, the collaboration between the SCI and the ministries of
health and education, the need to guarantee sustainability of such
disease control programmes. He was pleased at the rapid benefits of
reaching the poorest of the poor and the improved quality of life for
the larger population of Niger. The Minister of Health then presented
(left to right in the picture) Dr. Bertrand Sellin (RISEAL), Professor
Alan Fenwick and Mr. Howard Thompson (SCI) with the Ministry of Health’s
highest honor, that of the medal of service to health in Niger. The
ceremony honoured both the Nigerian contribution to the control of
Schistosomiasis and STH and SCI’s support to reducing the prevalence and
intensity of such diseases in sub-Saharan Africa.
 The new laboratory and office building includes 3 laboratories (2
parasitology labs and 1 malacology lab), two offices and a large
conference room. The space will enable the PNLBG team, and hopefully
other neglected disease control programmes, to have access to modern
laboratory space and materials. Along with presenting the Minister of
Health with the keys to the new building, Prof. Alan Fenwick handed the
keys to a new Toyota Hilux and 17 motorcycles for the PNLBG programme in
Niger, to support delivery of drugs to rural areas.
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