Integrated Mass Treatment Of The Neglected Tropical Diseases In Niger
On April 19th, coincidentally on the same day that a neglected tropical disease integration meeting was being held at the WHO office in Geneva, the Ministry of Health of Niger and the USAID funded NTD-Niger Programme launched an integrated campaign for the mass treatment of neglected tropical diseases. Niger is the first of the five rapid start-up countries supported by the USAID funds to initiate integrated treatment for the control of schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthes, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, and trachoma. The NTD-Niger programme is targeting 19 health districts in the regions of Dosso, Tahoua and Tillabery during the 2007 phase of the integrated campaign, and in total, over six million people will be reached over the six week campaign, starting on 26th April. The pharmaceutical companies of Pfizer, Merck, and GSK donated three of the five medicines for distribution (zithromax, ivermectin, and albendazole respectively). UNICEF provided 120,000 tubes of tetracycline for the treatment of trachoma in children under six months old.
Above left: The Minister of Health, the Honorable Mahaman Kabaou, launches the NTD-Niger Programme Above right: Howard Thompson gives a speech on behalf of the SCI The national launch of the NTD-Niger programme and campaign took place
on the 19th of April, 2007 in the regional capital of Tillabery. The
Minister of Health, the Honorable Mahaman Kabaou, and the Secretaire
General, Dr. Fatimata Moussa, both attended the ceremony. In addition,
the WHO representative, the Governor of Tillabery, and the ITI-Niger
representative
Community drug distributors, health agents and teachers have been trained on how to correctly distribute the tablets to target populations. Niger is the first country to launch integrated mass treatment for the control of NTDs and the lessons learned will enable other countries to successfully implement and manage similar programmes. |
were there. Both national and private television and
radio stations broadcasted the launch of the programme in three local
languages (French, Hausa, and Zarma). SCI was represented by Howard
Thompson and Elisa Bosque-Oliva.