Niger Launches Schistosomiasis Control Programme
| On 6 October, the Minister of Health of Niger, Monsieur Mamadou Sourghia,
launched the Schistosomiasis Control Programme of the Government of Niger.
This ceremony was held at Kollo, a town about 50 kilometers south of Niamey,
close to the banks of the Niger River. His audience included hundreds of
citizens of Kollo, who are all too familiar with schistosomiasis, and
representatives of all levels of government, as well as of WHO, the Institut
Pasteur (CERMES), World Food Programme (WFP) and various foreign missions
involved in health service delivery in Niger. The Governor of Tillaberri
Province, where Kollo is located also gave a speech in which he encouraged
the citizens of his region to take advantage of this programme and the
medicine which it will make available every year from now on. Monsieur Sourghia explained that schistosomiasis is second only to
Malaria in terms of morbidity and social importance in Niger, causing around
3 million people to be seriously infected. He committed the government to a
permanent programme of control; and urged all those who would be contacted
over the coming years by staff of his ministry to respond positively and
take advantage of the availability of praziquantel and albendazole tablets
which will be freely available from next month. |
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The Niger Minister of Health, Mr Mamadou Sourghia,
launches the national control programme |
The ministry aims to treat 1 million people by the end of 2004, and twice
as many during the course of 2005. They expect to have delivered treatment
to at least 3 million people by some time in 2006, each person treated being
scheduled for a second treatment a year afterwards.
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The Minister of Health, Niger, with Howard Thompson
(SCI) and Dr Amadou Garba, the national coordinator |
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The Governor of Tillaberi province treats a child at
the launch of the Niger national programme |
The programme is being monitored by the staff of CERMES (Centre de
Recherches Medicales et Scientifiques), which receives support from the
Government of France. Both praziquantel and albendazole are being provided
by SCI, along with equipment to support their distribution and to enable
surveillance and monitoring activities on an appropriate scale.
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