Mass Drug Distribution on Pemba Island, Zanzibar
The programme was officially launched on January 6th 2004 by the President of Zanzibar His Excellency Mr Amano Karume. Immediately thereafter, a National Committee was formed to develop policy guidelines for treatment in Zanzibar, both for Pemba Island and for Unguja Island, where treatment will follow. District meetings were held to advocate the new control initiative. Baseline data collection in 16 schools and 10 communities on the island was complete by the end of April and prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis was found to be 65% among the school children and 37% in the communities surveyed. This justified a community-based approach to control and provided one of the first opportunities to integrate control programmes for different diseases.
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The
Kichocho (Bilharzia) Control Campaign on Pemba Island has started the first
treatment programme for Schistosomiasis and Soil-Transmitted Helminths in
Tanzania. Mass community drug distribution of Praziquantel (for schistosomiasis)
and Albendazole (for Soil Transmitted Helminths) took place on the 22nd-23rd
May and 5th-6th June 2004. Full credit for this campaign
goes to Mr Hamad Haji (SCI Zanzibar Coordinator) and the staff of the Public
Health Laboratory.
The
Global Programme for the Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF) has been
treating the whole community on Pemba since 2001, distributing Ivermectin and
Albendazole in October each year. Due to the similarities in calculating dosage
of the drugs using a height pole in both lymphatic filariasis and
schistosomiasis control, the same community drug distribution assistants were
trained to administer the drugs. They distributed Ivermectin and Albendazole in
October 2003 and distributed Praziquantel and Albendazole seven months later. In
this way, the communities of Pemba received 2 doses annually for the treatment
of STH’s, maximising their potential health benefits.
One
week prior to treatment, intensive community mobilization took place with
political, health and religious teams holding community briefings for
sensitisation. Drugs, treatment registers and height poles were delivered to the
Primary Health Care Facilities (PHCF) across the Island for collection by the
community drug distributors. On the first weekend of treatment, the PHL team was
joined by Mr Juma Rajib Juma, Director of Preventive Services, Ministry of
Health and Social Welfare, Zanzibar and from the SCI, Dr Lynsey Blair, who had
the opportunity to visit the communities and see the treatment programme in
action. One very positive aspect was the high demand for the drug by all members
of the community.
An
estimated 300,000 people received treatment during the distribution campaign,
with coverage over 75% of the eligible population. Drugs remain available
throughout the year at the health care units for those who missed, or were
excluded from, treatment in this round. The next treatment will take place for
lymphatic filariasis in October 2004 and for schistosomiasis again early 2005.